As the Democratic Primary blazes on and we move to the next stage of the election, I can't help but think of my home state of Illinois and how it is evidence when this nomination process is over that we come together and vote for the Democratic nominee. In 2014 our flawed Democratic Governor, Pat Quinn, faced a tough re-election battle and the Democrats did not come out in force to support him. Many said, "How bad can Rauner be?” Rauner ran as a likable, middle of the road “reasonable” candidate. He even paraded his Democratic wife around in commercials to show how “reasonable” he actually was. Democrats crossed over or stayed home and Rauner eked out a win. Fast forward and our state is in complete shambles. As an educator, I am most upset at what he has done to higher education in the State of Illinois.
Universities have been without state money since July as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly can't agree on a budget. In a letter sent Friday to Rauner and legislative leaders, the presidents of the state's nine public universities said the stalemate will result in public higher education being "damaged beyond repair."
According to today’s Chicago Tribune :
That letter, and a Wednesday morning news conference called by a new coalition of university officials, businesses and labor groups, are part of a push to draw attention to the budget stalemate's impact on state universities. Even if a deal is reached, the campuses are likely to see their funding slashed. Rauner had proposed a 31 percent cut to higher education, while the budget that Democrats sent to the governor included a 6.5 percent cut.
Do you see the consequences of not supporting Democrats? Yes budgets must be addressed but Democrats only proposed a 6.5% budget cut. Rauner is insisting on 5 times that. These numbers are devastating to Universities. This is not hypothetical damage. This is so very real. The Chicago Tribune continues:
"When colleges and universities reach this point of no return — when bills cannot be paid and payroll cannot be met — they will close," the university presidents wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Tribune. "The results will be catastrophic for the economy of the State of Illinois and it will shatter the dreams and lives of hundreds of thousands of Illinois students and families."
This turn of events is devastating all the way around. But in most instances, universities are turning to their reserves, or cutting non-union/non-essential staff. Eastern Illinois is facing drastic budget cuts. Southern Illinois University seems to be following their lead. Western Illinois University has cut 200 non-union staff. All across the state professional educators are voting to take pay-freezes or significant pay cuts just to save jobs and keep schools open for the students. That’s all bad… but what is happening in Chicago at Chicago State University is criminal in my mind. And I think you will agree.
Chicago State University is a 150 year old predominantly African American institution on the south side of Chicago that is on the verge of closing because of GOP Governor Bruce Rauner and his unwillingness to break the budget stalemate. In fact he seems to be reveling in the failure of Illinois’ higher education system (shades of Scott Walker, anyone?). To understand the importance of this place of learning you only have to read yesterday’s New York Times:
For many students, the university is a lifeline. Originally founded as a teachers’ college during boom times in the 1860s, the small, austere campus of concrete plazas and low-slung brick buildings now occupies 160 acres of land deep on the South Side of Chicago. It is bordered by an expressway and a residential neighborhood that was once solidly middle-class but has been upended by poverty, gang violence and declining population. Streetlights are marked with dark green banners, the school color, stamped with the Chicago State logo.“There’s a lot of frustration in the community,” said Phillip Beverly, a political-science professor at Chicago State, who grew up five blocks from the school and whose grandmother and wife are graduates. “You’re closing off an avenue for people to change their lives.”
This is not just a place to go to school. This a community haven where African Americans on the south side of Chicago can dream for bigger and better than what they currently have. At an affordable $12,000 a year (vs. $30,000 for most other Chicago area public institutions), it is THE only place they can afford to attend. The New York Times continues:
The university attracts untypical college students. The average age is 31; close to half are mothers (70 percent of the student population are women, and most of them have at least one child); and the average ACT score is 18.6 out of 36, compared with the national average of 21.“We can’t just go to another school,” said Reiko Williamson, a senior who is studying nursing, as she left a class on a rainy afternoon. “This is all we have. This is all we can afford.”
And yet GOP Governor Rauner is willing to risk the futures of these students, this neighborhood, this community as a pawn in his game to push Koch-backed tax cuts, to make Illinois a right-to-work state, and to leave Illinois damaged so they can line the pockets of their wealthy friends. THIS is why, no matter who the nominee is, we MUST vote BLUE. We MUST keep the GOP from controlling the White House. We MUST work our damnedest to take back the Senate. We MUST show up in 2016, 2018, and 2020 so we can break up the terrible gerrymandering that has doomed our progressive efforts all over the United States. The 2020 election and census is as important as any event in our lifetime when it comes to the future of this nation. WE MUST take back the state houses, and the Governorships.
I’m not sure there is anything we can do in Illinois to save Chicago State University and our other vulnerable higher institutes of education. Rauner has until 2018 before he has to run for reelection. But we CAN start right now to take back our country make a real difference. We can VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO on the local, state, and national levels. I know I will. I will not miss an election… and I will not vote GOP! It starts with the 2016 general election. Join me in saving our country from the GOP. Don’t let our entire nation suffer the way Illinois is! Don’t be complacent! DEFEAT THE GOP!