Public Servitude

This happens all the time. And it's legal under Illinois law. Companies that would benefit from increased school business due to the passage of a school construction bond issue in Glenview donated to the VOTE yes campaign. These kind of donations accounted for 80% of the contributions. Tribune:

On Feb. 12 the school board hired Henry Bros. Co. of Hickory Hills and Nicholas & Associates of Mt. Prospect to oversee $48 million in construction at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook and Glenbrook South in Glenview. Each company gave $5,000 to the citizens group, according to state disclosure records.

William Blair & Co., a Chicago financial firm, advised school officials on how to promote the bond measure and will earn at least $130,000 in fees resulting from bond sales, Schilling said. The company gave $4,000 to the vote-yes campaign.

And who requested the donations, and headed the campaign? Why none other than an experienced leader from the high school booster club, the successor to the elementary school PTAs. Typically these groups act as cheerleaders for the administration, and this is just a little extra shall we say extracurricular fundraising. And let's not forget behind the scenes assistance from the teachers' union.

And while administrators are prohibited from campaigning for school referenda, in practice this law is a total joke:

School administrators and employees are prohibited from soliciting donations or using taxpayer time or money to push a referendum measure. The district is allowed to provide factual information describing the need for the bond package and its effect on taxpayers.

Perhaps these kind of power plays in local politics have become so blatant the law will now be enforced. Here's just one example from the McHenry County Blog. And then you have cute back scratching relationships between neighboring school boards and administrations. An entire school board could be composed of self-interested members. Or close. Wilmette comes to mind. (You will note in the link on this upper middle class racketeering this is going on in at least one other state in addition to Illinois. What state is even more corrupt than ours? Yup, it's New Jersey.)

And this abuse is not limited to school districts. Local governments routinely present selective and tendentious information to citizens on referenda. See my earlier post on neighboring Evanston, where Cook County admitted there were 112 similar complaints.

The upshot is it is very difficult for parents and citizens who may have a different view from local governments to get their message out. When you combine the power of an administration with the power of the purse from their vendors, the playing field tilts even more away from taxpayers. And when you add to that obfuscation of their operations by hiding behind FOIA, accountability is practically nonexistent.

Schools are for sale, and education for our children is not the first priority any more. All too often, self-interested administrators and boards do not serve the public. In their view, the public is there to serve them.