Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“More homeowners are trapped by underwater mortgages in the Chicago area than in almost any other major metropolitan area in the country, two new studies show,” the Tribune reports.
“One study, released Thursday by housing research data firm CoreLogic, found Chicago slightly better off than Las Vegas and Miami. But a separate study released Wednesday by real estate website Zillow places Chicago homeowners in the worst position in the nation, with a larger portion of homes underwater than in either Las Vegas or Miami.”
I believe previous studies have also shown what Zillow found: Chicago is the most underwater city in the nation.


Principally Speaking
More on the (alleged?) exodus of principals from CPS I wrote about yesterday:
* “Asked about the departures, CPS administrators suggested the district can’t retain its best and brightest administrators as long as the Republican governor blocks CPS’ desires for a new school funding formula,” the Tribune reports.
“‘The longer Gov. Rauner stands in the way of equitably funding education, the more CPS will be at a competitive disadvantage for retaining our best principals and teachers, who will always have other options whether it’s out of state or in the suburbs,’ district Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said in a statement.”
Huh. When previously asked about principal departures by Catalyst, Jackson hedged on whether budget difficulties were to blame – perhaps because Rahm’s PR team hadn’t figured out its company line, I suggested.
“District officials say the number of departures is in line with previous years but blamed Gov. Bruce Rauner for standing ‘in the way of equitably funding education,” Catalyst reported.
Now, the city has decided, the “exodus” is real and Rauner is definitely to blame.
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Back to the Tribune::
“Despite CPS’ suggestion that Rauner is to blame, this year’s numbers aren’t entirely out of sync with the number of principal departures the district has seen in recent years. According to CPS, 46 principals left the district in its 2015 budget year, compared with 49 in 2014 and 33 in 2013.”
Catalyst also has updated figures, and here’s a chart that WBEZ’s Sarah Karp tweeted out Wednesday.
WBEZ also has audio of CPS chief Forrest Claypool blaming Springfield for the “exodus,” so CPS has definitely decided they will not fight the narrative but instead assign blame elsewhere.
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As I wrote yesterday, I’m not saying there isn’t a budget-driven exodus, but I’m not sure the numbers we’ve seen are yet statistically significant when compared to recent years. I just don’t know. Perhaps more fascinating is to see such a good example of how a narrative can take hold when journalists just repeat what others surmise rather than doing their own work.
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Thomas Corfman in his Crain’s newsletter:

The number of principals who have left the Chicago Public Schools during the current school year is already 17 percent ahead of last year’s pace, raising concerns that the school system’s deep financial woes are prompting top talent to flee, Greg Hinz reports.
CPS blamed the exodus on Rauner, while the Chicago Teachers Union blamed CPS mismanagement, DNAinfo reports.
This year, 54 principals have left CPS (33 by resignation, the rest by retiring), compared with 46 last year (29 by resignation).
No statistics on how many were humming “Take this job and shove it” on the way out.

Perhaps. But there are only four more retirements than last year, and if you take those out of the equation you have just one more principal departing than two years ago. Maybe those retirements are just principals getting old? What I’d like to see is a survey of each and every principal leaving – and even then it’s not as if this isn’t the first year CPS has been in budget crisis. It’s in budget crisis every year!
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And then there’s Natasha Korecki for Politico:
“The budget uncertainty is hitting home in Chicago, where parents already have plenty of reasons to pick up and leave the city. Now, dozens of CPS principals – including some of the most popular at select enrollment schools – are leaving the system. Already, CPS has experienced the highest number of principal resignations it’s seen over the last six years.”
That does not appear to be true. The chart shown by Catalyst and Karp shows 33 resignations this year compared to 37 in 2014. And if you add resignations and retirements together, it’s definitely not true because a shitload of principals retired in 2011 and 2012 due to pension incentives.
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Which gets to another problem: It seems like everyone is doing news round-ups these days (remember when it was “stealing” content?), but if you just send stuff out without doing your own vetting, you’re not doing readers any favors – you’re just amplifying the media’s mistakes. As much as you love your peers and colleagues, you shouldn’t blindly trust their work.
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Millions Of American Kids Going Untested For Lead
Finger-prick testing at a pediatrician’s office can provide initial results in three minutes. The tests range in cost, from as little as $7. And yet.
Senn TV!
From Studio 346. Which is not in a prison.
Fantasy Fix: Youth Movement
Albert Almora is here. Are Willson Contreras and Tim Anderson next?
Are Rock Stars Destined To Die Young?
An analysis of Rolling Stone’s Top 100 suggests that yes, they are, with a life expectancy matching that of Chad.
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BeachBook
National Parks Service Pushes Back On Lathrop Homes Plan.

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Coastal Seafoods Sold To Chicago Company.

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Chicago Suburbanites Upset At Store Selling Adult Diapers.

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TweetWood
A sampling.


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The Beachwood Tronc Line: Non-competitive.

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Posted on June 9, 2016