The [Tuesday] Papers

The Chicago Teachers Union and City of Chicago came to a tentative agreement around midnight to avert a strike and keep the schools open today while the Cubs went into the early morning hours before losing Game 3 of their series against the Giants. So the city's kids aren't in a good mood right about now.

Which makes this headline a lie, man!

*

"The four-year deal agreed to by union leaders still needs to be ratified by the CTU's House of Delegates and voted on by full membership," the Tribune (and everybody else) reports.

"Monday's late night dramatics followed well over a year of negotiations to replace a contract reached after a seven day strike in 2012. A key union demand has been more money for schools, particularly from special taxing districts, and indications were Emanuel's administration was coming through on that front.

"Emanuel agreed to declare surplus from tax increment financing districts of $175 million, three sources told the Chicago Tribune. CPS would get at least half of that amount, the sources said."

One might intuit from the coverage and a general working knowledge of Chicago and its mayor that Emanuel purposely held back some of the TIF funds he was willing to (re)direct to the schools in order to have a deal-sweetener to pull out of his pocket as the deadline approached.

In other words, he knew how far he was willing to go all along.

Does this mean the CTU got played? Not necessarily; it's equally possible that both sides were playing the same game well aware of the other guy's playbook. In that sense, everything went according to script.

At the same time, there are still details to work out:

"[T]he union still had some issues around case management and a lack of guarantees on social workers in schools," the Sun-Times reports.

And:

"It's not yet clear how the Board of Education will pay for the new deal, or how much of the tax-increment financing money the union has sought as a solution for the cash-strapped district could be tapped."

But it looks like a done deal. The pressure now shifts from the city to reach an agreement to the union's membership to ratify it.

Meanwhile . . .

"As gun violence soars in Chicago, public schools have not been able to devote enough resources to basic counseling assistance - let alone to helping traumatized students.

"A new $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will support more mental health services at 10 high schools on the South and West sides of the city, where students are at high risk of exposure to violence," Catalyst reports.

"The grant comes at a crucial time for Chicago Public Schools. In the grant application, officials said the district's mental health services have been 'decimated' by budget cuts."

Huh. I wonder who decimated them?

-

Cubs Rewind: Pitching The Offense
The night Maddon lost his Midas touch.

Celebrating Chicago's Hard Cover
"More than just a show, Hard Cover is a platform for authentic and articulate youth voices - an opportunity for underrepresented youth to share their compelling stories with an ever-expanding audience of their peers."

U.S. Sold Arms To Saudi Arabia Despite War Crime Implications
"State Department officials also were privately skeptical of the Saudi military's ability to target Houthi militants without killing civilians and destroying 'critical infrastructure' needed for Yemen to recover."

-

BeachBook

Crazy Trump Supporter Not Named Corey Lewandowski Pushes CNN's Brooke Baldwin To The Edge.

*

Massive Report Details Mass Surveillance In Central And South America, Because Why Should They Be Any Different Than Us.

*

My Tongue Is Insured For $1.25 Million Because I Taste Chocolate For A Living.

-

TweetWood
A sampling.

Donald Trump fired Illinois native Maria Kanellis for 'locker room' talk https://t.co/S2mbSeIu0k

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 11, 2016

*

Score caller just now: "Hindsight is 50-50."

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 11, 2016

*

Hacked Clinton Emails Show CNBC Host John Harwood Constantly Complementing Hillary https://t.co/eNjE7KjjPU pic.twitter.com/cC5Mhi3Lva

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) October 10, 2016

*

Locker room talk: https://t.co/786WYyhIMI

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) October 10, 2016

-

The Beachwood Tronc Line: Chuck it.

© 2006 - 2020, The Beachwood Media Company