CHICAGO – Typically, Republicans are for tight budgets, less government control and lower taxes. But Tuesday morning, the IL GOP sent out the following press release that has many scratching their heads. Whose side is the IL GOP on – taxpayers or Chicago schools – or what? What's the strategy here?
While his handpicked political fixer was ordering $46 million in avoidable new cuts to Chicago schools, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was hanging out in California spouting political advice and inadvertently revealing the sad truth that his cuts are all about trying to gain a political advantage.
“Rahm Emanuel could have spent the last two months working to pass the agreed-to comprehensive pension reform deal that would have benefited Chicago Public Schools, but rather than do what is right, Rahm focused on how to cut services and blame someone else,” said Illinois GOP spokesman Aaron DeGroot. “Madigan and the Mayor are playing from the same divisive playbook, trying to create a crisis and hurt people instead of working to find common ground. It’s time for Mayor Emanuel to stop playing the part of Madigan’s junior partner and actually work to get results for his city.”
From his perch at Stanford University yesterday, Mayor Emanuel espoused a political world view of trying to foster disagreement and division. During Emanuel’s political lecturing, his hatchet man was busy slashing school budgets and trying to create a crisis for his boss who infamously advised to never let a serious crisis go to waste.
