By Steve Rhodes
“One of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointees to the state agency that operates U.S. Cellular Field has suggested the board interview a former top Chicago Public Schools administrator for its long-vacant executive director job,” the Tribune reports.
“Diana Ferguson, who served as chief financial officer at CPS and at Sara Lee Corp., confirmed to the Tribune on Wednesday that she’s a candidate to manage daily operations for the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.”
Well, by Chicago standards she has impeccable credentials. From the Beachwood vault:
* The budget says one thing, the payroll says something else.
* Don’t quote her by name – or send her e-mail.
Hired!
She’s also the secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Infrastructure Bank. Now we know where Pat Quinn got this crazy idea.
*
Finally, let’s recall Ferguson’s exit from CPS in May 2011:
“The chief financial officer of the Chicago Public Schools has resigned, leaving the district without a CFO in a time of deep financial peril,” the Huffington Post wrote at the time.
“Diana Ferguson was one of only three out of the 16 CPS executives who was retained by Rahm Emanuel in the transition. But she informed the mayor’s office of her decision to leave on Monday, and the news was made public on Tuesday.
“According to the Chicago Tribune, Ferguson is getting married soon, and plans to move out to the suburbs with her fiance. And due to the city of Chicago’s residency law, no employee of the city can live outside city limits.”
Perfect. How soon can she start?
B3 Shot
New schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett struck a nice chord Wednesday when she presided over her first school board meeting and stated that “I am a teacher who happens to be the CEO.”
Of course, teachers don’t get $30,000 in “relocation and transition expenses,” but why nitpick?
*
Chuck Goudie points out that the board is still on the hook for $300,000 to the exiled Jean-Claude Brizard, meaning CPS is paying $580,000 for the rest of this year and next year for the CEO position.
Can’t someone sacrifice for the children?
*
“In the scheme of school finances, $580,000 doesn’t amount to much, a little more than a dollar per student,” Goudie says.”
Yeah, what could a Chicago public school really do with a measly $580,000?
“It is especially inconsequential when you consider the size of the Chicago public school deficit, expected to be about $1 billion by the end of this school year.”
Funny how inconsequential large sums of money become the further a public agency drives itself into debt.
*
Barbara Byrd-Brizard.
Pat’s Prisons
“Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration is defending its decision allowing community college students to take an ‘educational’ tour of one of the state’s maximum-security prisons while at the same time continuing to bar reporters from such visits as a security risk,” AP reports.
“When asked in August why reporters can’t tour taxpayer-financed prisons, Quinn said it would be a ‘security risk.’ He added, ‘Prisons aren’t country clubs. They’re not there to be visited and looked at.'”
To be fair, officials probably just wanted to give students a glimpse of their future.
“[Spokesman Josh Reinhart] said the class is for students interested in becoming correctional officers or prison administrators.”
Oh.
Democrats vs. The Homeless
The cold dark hearts of Pat Quinn and Rahm Emanuel.
Rare Ramones & The Spudocaster
In Local Music Notebook.
Help Save Classic Chicago TV!
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Peanut vs. Fig
In The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report.
Kmart Tries To Be Kool
Fails.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: 2 Kool 2 Be Forgotten.
Posted on October 25, 2012