{"id":5364,"date":"2013-03-29T21:16:34","date_gmt":"2013-03-30T02:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/?p=5364"},"modified":"2018-08-16T15:49:15","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T20:49:15","slug":"money-grab-heather-steans-chicago-school-closings-and-k12-inc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/?p=5364","title":{"rendered":"Money Grab: Heather Steans, Chicago School Closings and K12 Inc."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>State Senator Heather Steans<\/a> and Stand for Children<\/a> are ultimately responsible for Chicago school closings and the recent increase of charter school applications like the 18-district virtual charter initiated by K12 Inc. in the Chicago suburbs.<\/p>\n

\"Rahm

Rahm Emanuel, Barb Byrd-Bennett, Heather Steans, Jonah Edelman<\/p><\/div>\n

I started researching SB79 and HB 5825, the legislation that created and gave the Illinois Charter Commission super “override powers” and autonomy from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).\u00a0 If SB7 gave education activists concern, SB79 and HB 5825 should have started a five-alarm fire.<\/p>\n

Because of SB79, K12 Inc., a for-profit, Wall Street-traded company applied for a virtual charter scam<\/a> in 18 suburban school districts.\u00a0 Why are they doing this?\u00a0 K12 Inc. anticipates that the state charter commission will override local rejections of their taxpayer rip-off scheme and approve the charter despite overwhelming local opposition.<\/p>\n

In Chicago, Rahm Emanuel took a more direct approach to help out his wealthy friends who want to replace Chicago public schools with profit-driven charter schools.\u00a0 Rahm’s unelected school board president, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, announced on Thursday, March 21st that CPS would be closing 61 public schools.\u00a0 You can bet that profit-driven charters will be popping up\u00a0 to replace the recently closed pubic schools.\u00a0 The Illinois Charter Commission created by SB79 will pave the way.\u00a0 Rahm’s election and appointment of Byrd-Bennett brought this multi-year, multi-million dollar effort to the 10-yard line.<\/p>\n

In a recent In These Times<\/em> article, Kenzo Shabata explains Byrd-Bennett’s role as a “cleaner.” <\/a><\/p>\n

“Byrd-Bennett can be thought of as something of a “cleaner…”\u00a0 In the school system of the neoliberal era, the job of the cleaner is to close as many schools as possible and replace them with charter schools before the public catches on to the plan.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It should come as no surprise that Byrd-Bennet has connections to the profitable K12 Inc.\u00a0 According to a Sun-Times profile piece<\/a> on Byrd-Bennet:<\/p>\n

“Also, she\u2019s served as an adviser to K12, Inc., that Virginia-based for-profit company that serves up virtual and cyber schools. And she\u2019s been on the board of Common Core. UNO Charter Schools chief Juan Rangel\u2019s on that, too.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Steans Did the Heavy Lifting on SB79:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t know the dirty details of how SB79 got passed, but I’m willing to bet that Steans chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee<\/a> had something to do with it.\u00a0 Any lawmaker who wanted state funding for a project or organization back home would have to go through Steans.\u00a0 She could easily trade funding for that project for a “yes vote” on SB 79.<\/p>\n

I never understood why Heather Steans was such a strong advocate for charter schools until I discovered that her influential husband, Leo Smith, is a teacher at Perspectives Charter School<\/a> and an ardent advocate for charters.\u00a0 Apparently Smith is a bit of a bully, as evidenced by his aberrant behavior and the interruption strategy he employed at a political opponents’ event in 2009 (Read the PSB account<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Over the course of four years, Steans and Smith donated $100,000 to Rod Blagojevich.\u00a0 Some have alleged that these contributions influenced her appointment to the state senate seat she now holds.\u00a0 However, it is Leo Smith’s $25,000 contribution to Stand [On] for Children<\/em> that bothers me the most.<\/p>\n \n\t\t

\n\t\t\t \t\n \"leo-smith_stand-for-children\"\n\n \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n \n

The $36,000 that K12 Inc. spent lobbying Springfield lawmakers over the past six years gets dwarfed by the $1.6M that Stand<\/em> has spent buying access to Illinois lawmakers.\u00a0 The biggest investors in the charter school money grab are all hedge fund managers who have funded their front group, Stand for Children<\/em>, a political action committee (PAC) in Illinois.\u00a0 We know that Stand <\/em>gets their money from hedge fund managers and financial investment firms (see chart below).\u00a0 We also know that Stand<\/em> played a critical role in lobbying for SB79 and HB 5825.<\/p>\n \n\t\t

\n\t\t\t \t\n \"stand-hedge-fund-managers\"\n\n \t<\/a>\n\t\t <\/div>\n \n

I certainly understand the profit motives of K12 Inc.\u00a0 I understand the profit motives of the hedge fund managers behind Stand for Children<\/em>.\u00a0 What I don’t understand is how Heather Steans and her husband, Leo Smith can still ignore solid evidence that charters don’t improve grades.\u00a0 The Steans family influence peddling to transform our education system into a profitable business model doesn’t stop with Stand or an appointment to the Illinois Senate.<\/p>\n

Advance Illinois:<\/strong><\/p>\n

An issue advocacy group cynically named, Advance Illinois<\/em>, is yet another pro-charter group that works with lawmakers to craft legislation like SB79 and HB 5825.\u00a0 It should come as no surprise that the organization is run by Robin Steans, Heathers’ sister.<\/p>\n

\"Robin<\/p>\n

It also should not surprise anyone that financial supporters of Advance Illinois<\/em> are mega-millionaires and foundations connected to businesses seeking to make money off of\u00a0 profit-driven charters – notice the CME group, Madison Dearborn Partners, Chase Bank, the Waltons and Gates foundations.<\/p>\n

\"Advance<\/p>\n

Here is a video of\u00a0 Advance Illinois lobbyist, Amy Berringer-Cole<\/a> talking about how great charter schools are.<\/p>\n

I suppose affluent, Harvard-educated folks like Steans and Smith probably think that re-arranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic via a charter school is the best way to fix our education system.\u00a0 I would argue that smaller class sizes and more parental involvement achieved through living wage laws and the Employee Free Choice Act\u00a0 are the best ways to improve education outcomes, but, I didn’t go to Harvard.\u00a0 I graduated from Illinois State University, a public school.<\/p>\n

There Was a Problem with SB 79 and Steans\/Chapa LaVia Pushed HB 5825 to “fix it:”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apparently a flaw in SB79 didn’t allow the new charter commission to receive funding from ISBE.\u00a0 Stand for Children, Steans, and State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia<\/a> used HB 5825 to fix this oversight. After HB5825 passed the house on\u00a0 March 28, 2012, Heather Steans added two significant amendments to the bill and passed it through the senate on May 22nd.\u00a0 The bill was sent back to Chapa LaVia’s committee after she filed Steans two amendments. With the pension issue dominating discussions, the bill was temporarily stalled.\u00a0 During Veto session (November 2012 – January 2013), lawmakers pushed HB 5825<\/a> through the House Rules Committee.\u00a0\u00a0 According to the League of Women Voters,<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

“HB 5825 SA 2 “Provides that the State Charter School Commission is established as an independent commission (instead of State agency)”.\u00a0 The bill “provides that the Commission shall be under the State Board of Education for administrative purposes only” while prohibiting “the State Superintendent of Education from reducing or modifying the budget of the Commission or from using funds appropriated to the Commission without the approval of the Commission”.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

My Account of an HB 5825 Hearing:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was sitting in Room 114 of the state capital on the afternoon of May 28, 2012 when Chapa LaVia was trying to get HB 5825 through committee.\u00a0 Essentially this was a concurrent bill to approve of Steans additional two amendments that were added in the Senate.\u00a0 A Madigan aide held a paper up and whispered into the ear of a junior lawmaker (I didn’t catch his name) in the back row of the committee meeting. The junior lawmaker ended his introduction of the bill by stating, “this bill has the support of Stand for Children.”\u00a0 Some members of the committee nodded as if this was a good thing.\u00a0 Chapa LaVia invited someone from ISBE and a Stand for Children<\/em> lobbyist to testify. Both testified that “this is just a way for the staff of the Illinois Charter Commission to get paid.”\u00a0 During the testimony, the staff of the commission was described as three people and the amount of private funds that needed to be allocated was $300,000 (I’m going off memory on the $300K).<\/p>\n

State Representative Monique Davis (D-Chicago)<\/a> argued briefly that if these were private funds that they [private entities] should pay their own people, not the state.\u00a0 State Representative Bob Pritchard (R-DeKalb)<\/a> asked the “question of the day” about pensions and that seemed to take the train off its tracks.\u00a0 Pritchard asked if this would make employees of the charter commission eligible for a state pension.\u00a0 “Yes, they would be state employees and they would be eligible for a state pension,” responded the ISBE spokesperson.\u00a0 Chapa LaVia then pulled the legislation and brought the committee meeting to an end, stating that she had her own questions about the bill.<\/p>\n

Done Deal:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almost six months later, the bill was brought back, unchanged, via the Rules Committee, during veto session, and it passed out of the Rules Committee 4-1.\u00a0\u00a0 The house voted, unanimously (114-0) on November 28, 2012 and Governor Quinn signed it on January 25, 2013 where the bill became law (Public Act 097-1156)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a December 2012 constituent meeting with Representative Chapa LaVia, she told Jean Pierce and I\u00a0 the same thing that I heard during the committee hearing.\u00a0 Essentially she saw HB 5825 as just a way for employees of the charter commission to get paid.<\/p>\n

HB 5825 did much more damage than that.\u00a0 Thanks to the Steans Amendments, it solidified that the charter commission did not fall under the jurisdiction of ISBE and was not a state agency.<\/p>\n

(105 ILCS 5\/27A-7.5)
\nSec. 27A-7.5. State Charter School Commission.
\n(a) A State Charter School Commission is established as an independent commission State agency with statewide chartering jurisdiction and authority. The Commission shall be under the State Board for administrative purposes only.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

HB 5825 also created a funding stream for charter schools that ISBE could not touch for public school funding.\u00a0 It is through this dedicated funding stream that $8,000 per child will be funneled from taxpayers’ pockets to K12 Inc. if their virtual charter scam goes through.<\/p>\n

(g-5) Funds or spending authority for the operation and administrative costs of the Commission shall be appropriated to the State Board in a separate line item. The State Superintendent of Education may not reduce or modify the budget of the Commission or use funds appropriated to the Commission without the approval of the Commission.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Conclusions – Money Grab:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The combination of SB79 and HB 5825 have effectively invited K12 Inc. and other unwanted profit-driven charters to Illinois.\u00a0 These bills set up Rahm’s school closings and disrupted the lives of thousands of children, largely in minority communities, in Chicago.<\/p>\n

While this is being pitched as a “necessary reform,” we know k12 Inc. will make $8,000 per child if they are successful.\u00a0 We don’t know how much money hedgers invested in Stand for Children<\/em> and Advance Illinois<\/em> will make off of Rahm’s school closings.\u00a0 We don’t know if the Steans family will make money on any of this, but they sure did put a lot of time and money into the construction of a profit-oriented education system.<\/p>\n

Test Question:<\/strong> Should your child’s education be traded on the stock market or CME like a bushel of corn or barrel of oil?<\/p>\n

Answer: <\/strong>It’s time to fight back and demand a repeal of SB79 and to keep Wall Street tycoons and Illinois hedge fund managers out of Illinois’ public education system.<\/mce><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State Senator Heather Steans and Stand for Children are ultimately responsible for Chicago school closings and the recent increase of charter school applications like the 18-district virtual charter initiated by K12 Inc. in the Chicago suburbs. I started researching SB79 and HB 5825, the legislation that created and gave the Illinois Charter Commission super “override […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[78],"tags":[2026,1570,193,1375,941,1542,487,2023,2021,2869,1993,141,2027,1961,1994,10,2024,156,139,2025,41,2022,1647,488],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5364"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5364"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7048,"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5364\/revisions\/7048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.progressivefox.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}