MercyHome
Congratulations to @NHLBlackhawks on winning the #StanleyCup! The Stanley Cup stopped by Mercy Home in 2013: pic.twitter.com/m14a0PjJtA
Getty Images
IRVING PARK — Chicago Public Schools opponents have a new roast master.
One man used Tuesday night's CPS budget hearing at Schurz High School to unleash a flurry of criticism on CPS leaders. The speaker, who said he's not a parent or teacher but a tour guide named Danny, told the crowd he attended the hearing because he's a CPS alumnus and taxpayer.
While others slammed the school system for cutting the budget in ways expected to hurt special education programs while giving more funding to charter schools, Danny took another approach: He compared CPS to the Bears' oft-maligned quarterback, Jay Cutler.
Danny first criticized CPS leaders for their spending, took a dig at charter schools and then went in for the burn:
"Nobody wants the board here, and you've proven that your methods are really expensive and negative for the city, so this board is just like Jay Cutler," he said. "And just like Jay Cutler you guys have a lot of work to redeem your reputation."
Danny's comments elicited laughter and cheers from the crowd, though CPS Treasurer Jennie Huang Bennett asked him to finish since his two minutes of speaking time were up.
"Oh, yeah, I'm done," Danny said.
He then picked up a motorcycle helmet, fist-bumped another attendee and disappeared into the night. (We're not kidding.)
Danny might be "done," and he might be gone — presumably he's off hosting tours, showing people the fairer side of this city — but he is not forgotten. Here are Danny's top three moments from his two-minute speech:
3. "You said we don't have the funds to keep spending, and I agree with you. So why don't you stop? There's this idea that we're out of money, so why do I keep seeing charter schools getting more money?"
2. "I'm not a teacher, I'm not a parent. I'm a tour guide downtown, but, uh, I'm a CPS alumni, so I feel like I've got a stake in all this. And I'm a taxpayer, so I want to see what you guys are doing with my money. And I gotta say, I don't like it. I don't like what you guys are doing."
1. And, of course: "Nobody wants the board here, and you've proven that your methods are really expensive and negative for the city, so this board is just like Jay Cutler," he said. "And just like Jay Cutler you guys have a lot of work to redeem your reputation."
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: