BRONZEVILLE — Chicago Public Schools parents opposed to new charter schools protested outside a key alderman's ward office Tuesday and then took their issues to City Hall.
Protesters charged that Ald. Will Burns (4th) was blocking a City Council resolution seeking a moratorium on new charter schools, then delivered a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel demanding Burns' ouster as chairman of the Education Committee.
"We are fed up with being shut out of the public-education process," said Joy Clendenning, a Kenwood Academy parent and 4th Ward resident. She pointed to how the City Council resolution had the backing of 42 of the 50 City Council aldermen when Burns declined to call it before the Education Committee.
"He stood in the way of democracy when he blocked that," Clendenning added, and "made a unilateral decision to stifle the discussion and not call a vote."
One protester brandished a sign calling Burns "an obstructionist shill for charter profiteers," and Cassie Creswell, of More Than a Score, pointed to state records on political campaign contributions showing that Burns had accepted significant backing from charter agencies and their members.
In addition to receiving $3,000 ahead of the municipal election earlier this year from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools Political Action Committee and Democrats for Education Reform, a prominent pro-charter group, state contribution records show that Burns has also accepted more than $20,000 since 2007 from David Weinberg, founder and president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and a board member at the Noble Network.
Burns did not respond to requests for comment. He has previously said he's been a "consistent" supporter of "school choice."
Noble is now locked in a contentious battle, to be decided at Wednesday's Board of Education meeting, to bring a charter school to the Southwest Side.
Jeff Jenkins, a Coonley School parent and Local School Council member, suggested Burns "may think charter schools are the greatest thing since an unelected school board."
"We call on you to put this resolution to a vote," said Linda Thisted, of Women Gathering for Justice. She said Burns was serving the pro-charter interests of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Yet that didn't stop the protesters, in what they called a "Caravan for Democracy," from going to City Hall to deliver a letter to the mayor calling for Burns' ouster as head of the Education Committee.
"We don't think Ald. Burns is fit to run the Education Committee," said Wendy Katten, of the grassroots group Raise Your Hand, in delivering the letter to a mayoral aide. "He doesn't belong in that role."
The Mayor's Office accepted the letter, but did not respond to requests for comment.
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