ROSELAND — Lucy Reese was an unlikely person to make it into Gov. Bruce Rauner's first State of the State address last week: The 47-year-old property manager from the city's South Side didn't even vote for him.
But Reese's shared passion with the governor over charter schools led not only to her being an invited guest to the speech in Springfield, but she and her children were even highlighted in his speech.
“All of my four children have attended different charter schools because I had to find the right fit for them, and they have all been great fits,” the Roseland resident said.
Currently, Reese has a 15-year-old daughter at Ralph Ellison Chicago International Charter School, at 1817 W. 80th St., and a 17-year-old son in Gary Comer College Prep, which is part of the Noble Network at 7131 S. South Chicago Ave. Her other two children already finished school.
Reese was invited by the Noble Network of Charter Schools, which also runs a school named after the governor — Rauner College Prep.
She went to Springfield for the governor's speech last week and said she had the opportunity to speak privately with him and his wife about issues of family and education.
She herself is a graduate of Gresham Elementary School — which is now being run by the private Academy of Urban School Leadership — and Dunbar High School.
But Reese said she didn't even consider neighborhood schools for her children.
“We never looked at the traditional schools just because of all the issues they have when it comes to gang violence and safety issues,” Reese said. “That wasn’t the type of environment that I wanted to put my kids in because they’ve always been in a safe and secure one."
While they did apply to selective-enrollment public schools, they weren't granted admission. But she was happy with the education they are receiving.
"I know the same education they can get from that selective school, they’re getting from that charter school, and they’re in a safe environment, too,” said Reese.
Still, Reese doesn't see the issue as "either or." For her, it's more about giving parents options to find the right fit for their children, who also attended charters for elementary school.
While she doesn't think all neighborhood schools are bad, Reese said there are issues that need to be addressed. Students aren’t being challenged enough, she said, noting that charter schools wouldn’t exist if those schools were performing well.
“If we can make the schools more academically challenging for our students and give them the education and all the tools they require in order to excel, then we wouldn’t have a need for this versus that,” Reese said.
She did repeat a refrain common to many critics of the city's current system, which features many top-notch magnets and selective enrollment schools but even more poor-quality neighborhood schools, saying, "Why can’t all of our schools be high-achieving schools?”
Still, she isn't as gung-ho about building new charters as Rauner, saying charters should only be expanded in the right circumstances.
"I think it's a good plan if you have charter schools that are working. ... I really feel that you need to look at the charter schools that work, exist and perform before you go and expand," she said. "I feel that expansion is great in any area but it has to be able to work and there has to be a need for it to work as well."
While she and Rauner generally agree on charters, she is also coming around on the minimum wage. Rauner has flip-flopped on the issue, first saying it should be lowered but then proposing in his State of the State address to hike it from $8.25 to $10 over seven years.
While she voted for former Gov. Pat Quinn because initially she didn't agree with Rauner, her opinion has since changed.
"I understand we cannot expect employers to be able to pay this increase so abruptly," she said.
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