Elected Board of Trustees - City Colleges
Democracy & Accountability
Top officials in Springfield and Chicago have finally gotten the message that the boards overseeing our public educational institutions should be accountable to the people. Soon, the Chicago Board of Education overseeing Chicago Public Schools (K-12), will join almost every school board in Illinois and across the country as an elected body.
City Colleges of Chicago also needs an elected Board.
SB2500 and HB0256 would accomplish that goal.
City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is a vital, $500 million part of Chicago's public education infrastructure.
Lack of accountability to the public means the CCC administration is able to ignore the needs of students and teachers, avoid collective bargaining obligations, cut and move programs around from campus to campus, leading to drastic drops in enrollment. For years, under various slogans (e.g. "reinvention") CCC Chancellors have been shifting away from the historic mission to serve those with few opportunities, especially immigrants, people with disabilities, and the working class.
Democracy and accountability will mean
* the CCC board and administration will have to listen
* issues facing CCC can be raised in public forums, with candidates publicly explaining where they stand (rather than making backroom promises)
* we'll put more "public" in our public education institutions
