Olympian Lies and School Grades Manipulation

Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley is a liar. So are Ron Huberman and Arne Duncan, the current and former chiefs of Chicago Public Schools respectively. 

Here's why, plain and simple: (1) The "improved grades" of Chicago public school children is largely false, a lie perpetrated and probably instigated by Huberman, and probably with Daley's blessing, and (2) Daley's wild claims that the 2016 Olympics would give Chicago a massive profit are roundly shot down by experts.

(1) Daley's Olympic Economics Fantasies Crain's Chicago Business noted this past week that Daley's fantastical claims "that the 2016 Olympics would give Chicago's economy a $22.5-billion boost vastly overstates the likely benefits of hosting the games, experts say."

The Crain's report continued (emphasis added): "That's crazy," says Victor Matheson, a professor of economics at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts who has studied the economic impact of the Olympics. "Anyone using this $22.5-billion number as justification to vote for the Olympics is being led down the garden path." The figure far exceeds estimated benefits in forecasts prepared by other cities that have sought the games. Atlanta, for example, figured the games it hosted in 1996 would produce an economic jolt of just $7 billion in 2009 dollars. (See the full article...)

Professor Matheson doesn't live in Chicago. It's doubtful that he has a partisan interest in the pro vs. con Chicago 2016 argument. It's undoubtedly safe to say that he knows a hell of lot more about the economics of hosting an Olympics than does Richard M. Daley, and that Matheson is more objective about it. We already knew in June that Daley lied when he said that the taxpayers would not lose a dime if Chicago get the Olympics, and the ill-fated meeting in Switzerland proved it. At the meeting, Daley announced that he would "sign the standard Olympic host city contract, which would give the city full financial responsibility for mounting the 2016 Summer Games." (Source) In other words, Chicago taxpayers would get stuck holding the bag if or when the Chicago Olympics loses money.

(2) The Chicago Public Schools Grades Conspiracy Many of us have known for a long time that claims of Chicago school kids' grades improving is a huge exaggeration, if not an outright lie. Now, thanks to the Chicago Sun-Times, we know that grades have been artificially raised in large numbers. An August 29 article, titled "1 in 5 Chicago Public High School teachers say they felt pressure to change grades last school year" demonstrates this with sharp clarity. The report surveyed more than 1,200 Chicago Teachers Union members and sheds light on how desperate city officials are to give the illusion of improvement where there is none.

An excerpt from that article: The findings raise serious questions about whether some of the data used to judge Chicago public schools has been inflated, artificially manipulated -- or in some cases outright altered.

Back in June, Greg Hinz wrote about the horrible failure of Chicago's public (government-run) schools. In his blog at Crain's Chicago Business, Hinz wrote this (emphasis added): Half of the students drop out by high school, and of those who remain until 11th grade, 70% fail to meet state standards, the report says. In fact, "In the regular (non-magnet) neighborhood high schools, which serve the vast preponderance of students, almost no students are prepared to succeed in college." The report directly challenges widespread claims by current and former CPS officials that local students have shown substantial progress over the last decade on standardized tests. 

Hinz cites a stunning June, 2009 report (see the PDF) by the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, which condemns Chicago's public schools in it conclusion (emphasis added): CPS has reported that Chicago s elementary schools have made enormous progress in the course of the past decade - achieving double-digit increases in all grades and all subjects. This claim jarringly conflicts with the flat trends reported in the high schools, and is contrary to the NAEP ("Nation s Report Card”) results. The remarkable apparent progress in the elementary schools appears to be due mostly to changes in the ISAT tests and testing procedures - rather than real improvement in student learning.

Without saying so directly, the report calls Daley, Huberman and Duncan liars.
So we'll say it for them: Daley, Huberman, and Duncan are liars. 

Schools-Related (Olympics-Related follows):

• Survey: Teachers pressured to change grades - ABC7Chicago.com 
• Chicago Arne Duncan presided over a schools grade changing scandal - Examiner.com 
• The horror of Chicago school reform - Examiner.com 
• CPS president subpoenaed - Chicago Sun-Times 
• Grand jury investigating Chicago Public Schools - Chicago Sun-Times 
• Chicago public-school reform flops, biz-backed report says - Crain's Chicago Business 
• Daley Lies About Chicago Public Schools - Welcome To Daleyland 
• Still Left Behind, Student Learning in Chicago's Public Schools - Report (PDF) from the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, June 2009 

Olympics-Related:

• Chicago's 2016 Olympics bid: Deeper look shows potential financial pitfalls - Chicago Tribune
• Daley seeks more graft from Olympics - The Daily Blank 
• Mayor Daley: Big Olympic Spender - Chicago Reader‎ 
• Daley ally will be asked about Olympics land deal - Chicago Tribune 
• Daley declines to answer questions about insider's Olympics deal - Chicago Tribune 
• Flores On Daley's Olympic Guarantee: "Enough Is Enough" - Progress Illinois

Huberman Furor Heats Up

No sign of the Huberman Outrage letting up. In fact, it seems to be building. A former mayoral candidate is challenging Mayor Daley's process in his selection (crowning) of Ron Huberman as the new chief of Chicago Public Schools. William Dock Walls, according to Chi-Town Daily News, "is attacking Mayor Richard M. Daley’s choice to run the Chicago Public Schools. In a suit filed today in Cook County Circuit Court, one-time Harold Washington aide and 2007 Mayoral candidate William Dock Walls alleges Daley violated the city’s municipal code, when he appointed former CTA President Ron Huberman schools CEO." Full Story at Chi-Town Daily News... Gee, Mayor Daley violating the city's municipal code? Is that the same Mayor Daley who bulldozed Meigs Field in the middle of the night? That Mayor Daley? Nah! Is Daley a Racist? Is Jesse Jackson a Homophobe? Huberman had a public coming-out moment last week when he announced that he's gay. Since then, anybody who criticizes him - anybody, that is, who is perceived to be conservative - is instantly labeled as a bigot, a homophobe, or just a hateful person. Why are the Gay Community and Liberals not calling Reverend Jesse Jackson or Dock Walls or Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown those names for opposing the Huberman appointment? Why isn't Mayor Daley being labeled a racist and a sexist because he chose a non-black man over a more qualified African-American woman (Barbara Eason-Watkins)? Hmmm? Even the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is criticizing the Huberman coronation. (Are they bigoted homophobes, too?) They wrote: The outrage from the school board’s proposal was intensified by Daley’s appointment of former Chicago Transit Authority CEO Ron Huberman to replace Duncan. During his tenure at CTA, Huberman cut services, raised fares and slashed jobs. Full Article at pslweb.org... I don't often agree with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, but we're in agreement here. When will the people of Chicago finally storm City Hall with pitchforks and torches and demand an end to the tyranny? It will be interesting to see how the City Council responds to all of this. Don't count on any of them going against Daley. Well, perhaps Joe Moore, but only if it looks like it will pass anyway. That way, he can safely say that he went against Daley. RELATED: Black leaders say no to Huberman for CPS (Chicago Defender) Black leaders lament Huberman appointment (Chicago Defender) Ron Huberman the wrong choice for CPS (Austin Weekly News) Ron Huberman booed, heckled at his 1st school board meeting (Chicago Tribune) Huberman Flies Into the Gay-dar (Chicago News Bench) Huberman Flies Into the Gay-dar (Illinois Review) Ron Huberman: The mayor's man (Chicago Sun-Times) CNB RSS Feed

Charter Schools, Choice, and Moral Controversy

Fran Eaton writes a great column in today's Southtown Star, in which she discusses Ron Huberman, the state of the public schools, parental choice and more. School choice advocates say the debate about education alternatives is long overdue, and they're absolutely right....The debate over schools, children and funding has been focused too long on how many education dollars are available and whether or not they are evenly distributed. Perhaps this moral controversy over CPS leadership will finally turn the discussion to what matters most. Full Article... CNB RSS Feed

Bigoted Hissy-Fit From Windy City Watch

Oooo, they're soooo sennn-sitive over at Windy City Watch (WCW). Seems their boa feathers are all ruffled over two posts about Ron Huberman, one by me on Monday, Feb. 2, and another by Illinois Review (IR).

The IR post drew heavily from my post of the same title, "Huberman Flies Into the Gay-dar." WCW is accusing us of bigotry and homophobia. Like the "Reverend" Jesse Jackson's knee-jerk, viper-quick ability to falsely accuse good people of racism, the anonymous writer at WCW has falsely accused me of homophobia and bigotry in a post today (Feb. 3). They're wrong, and pitifully so, made all the worse by the glaring fact that the nameless WCW writer seems to have completely missed the points of what both Illinois Review and I were making. 

(WARNING: This will be a long post, probably too long for the hate-addled writer at WCW to be able to focus on to the end, but I have faith that the rest of you can tough it out.)
Let's review what Windy City Watch wrote in its off-target post, incorrectly titled "Illinois Review goes all homophobic on Ron Huberman."

In a commentary posted this week regarding Ron Huberman's appointment to be the new CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and the revelation that he is gay, the Illinois Review (IR) wrote: Frankly we agree with (Tom) Mannis, that it's all rather disturbing that the Mayor kept that particular important part of Huberman's social life a secret until after the new CPS CEO was confirmed by the school board. It's like finding out after the fact that your new Treasury Secretary had no problem ripping off the IRS. You feel foolish for trusting those in authority to appoint not only qualified, but moral people. 

Let's pause here for analysis. Notice, please, that up to this point WCW is quoting Illinois Review, not me. Before we proceed, a quick trip backwards in time to Salem, Massachusetts might be fun: "She's a witch," the old priests would to scream. 

Suddenly, because of fear and paranoia, and because someone with "authority" declared it so, villagers who had been long time friends with the now-accused "witch" believed the accusation. Why? Well, they all just knew that there witches living among them, and so they were eager to ferret them out.

WCW is hunting witches. Indoctrinated by years of hateful anti-heterosexual (heterophobic) propaganda, people like the nameless writer at WCW have been made to be bigots themselves, prejudiced to the point where they assume that even legitimate criticism of a man's actual qualifications - or lack thereof, in the Huberman case - must be homophobia, xenophobia, or some other phobia. WCW and other paranoids succumb to hysteria and are convinced that they see bigotry even when it cannot be rationally demonstrated. The only true offense here is the false accusation of bigotry made by WCW against Illinois Review and me.

Let's continue with WCW's poorly considered rant:

Say what? We would like IR and Mannis to explain to us how Huberman keeping his sexual orientation a secret is disturbing. It is his own private business and has no impact on his ability to serve the people of Chicago admirably and honorably. The homophobic neanderthals [sic] over at IR might be startled to learn that over their many collective years of schooling a few of their teachers most likely belonged to GLBT community. Its [sic] this type of unabashed bigotry that makes it hard for us to take the ultra conservative movement seriously. 

WCW is asking, in an australopithecine way, for an explanation from Illinois Review and me as to why "[Huberman] keeping his sexual orientation a secret is disturbing."

I cannot speak for IR, but after re-reading their post several times it is my opinion that there is no homophobia or bigotry there.

Illinois Review wrote: 

"You feel foolish for trusting those in authority to appoint not only qualified, but moral people. And in the case of Huberman, the education qualifications to head the nation's third largest school district are especially skimpy." 

Many education leaders in Chicago agree that Huberman is not qualified to lead CPS. As for the "moral" reference, the crux of my post - which Illinois Review was agreeing with - was that Huberman has been less than honest about being gay. Dishonesty, most of would agree, is immoral. (Imagine if Rahm Emanuel had never publicly admitted to being Jewish, but then held a press conference after Obama's inauguration to announce that fact. How would people feel about him being ashamed of what he is, and of being deceitful about it until it was politically convenient to come out with it?

Suppose Mitt Romney had been elected president, and then announced that he'd been a Mormon all his life.) I will explain what I wrote, as requested by WCW.

Let me start my explanation by suggesting to WCW that he/she re-read my post, but this time think about what I wrote rather than only reacting to what he/she imagined I wrote. To aid in the explanation, I will present excerpts from my post.

I began my post with, "Normally, I don't care what somebody's sexual orientation is so long as it only involves consenting adults." That is hardly "unabashed bigotry."

I then wrote, "There is an aspect to the story....and that's Huberman's dishonesty. Up til now, Huberman has been flying under the gay-dar. That is, many of us knew or suspected that he was gay, but he did not wear it on his sleeve. Stories about him slinking around the gay clubs along Halsted and Broadway in Boys' Town (usually at Sidetrack) have circulated for years, but he did not acknowledge it publicly."

Everything in the above paragraph is true. I made no comment on his gay clubbing. ("Slinking," by the way, is not homo-specific. News flash: Plenty of heterosexuals also "slink" from bar to bar every night.) Keep in mind, as you continue to read, that militant gay organizations often "out" closeted gay people. Nobody accuses them of being homophobic, bigoted or Neanderthals.

Here is where I made the main point of my post: 

Suddenly, however, Huberman could no longer hide this fact when, in the wake of Daley's announcement, gay blogs throughout Chicago were emblazoned with posts screaming about Huberman finally coming out of the closet. Comments sections were steaming, too. Then tell us why the proud gay Huberman waited until now to admit that he's gay. Does that sound "proud" to you? And are you ready to admit that he probably would not have gone public had it not been for his outing in the gay media? When I, a straight guy, simply said that he was "popular in the gay community," I stopped short of outing the man. I did that out of respect for his privacy. How much respect have the gay websites shown Huberman by outing him for nothing more than a petty, selfish desire to seize upon some misdirected need to self actuate?

WCW, too busy wiping the foaming spittle from his/her rage-twisted, twitching lips to properly analyze my post, missed my point and the fact that I was actually dissing the gay web sites for outing Huberman, which probably contributed to the Daley-Huberman decision to announce his sexual orientation. In other words, I actually defended Huberman's right to privacy, and at no time have I written that his homosexuality disqualifies him for any job with the city. What I said, to paraphrase myself, was that Huberman, apparently embarrassed by his homosexuality for many years, finally admitted it publicly but only after being effectively outed by bloggers from within his own community.

I will add that Huberman and Daley announced it for political expediency, period. Homosexuality in the case of a CTA chief is irrelevant, whereas it is very relevant in the minds of many for a man taking the reigns of a school system. It is not about sexual preference, however. It's about a man whose character caused him to hide that sexual preference, even from most of his own gay brethren, and even in a city and an era wherein such closeted behavior is rarely necessary. It is about a man with zero experience in education administration. It is about a man who was not forthright or transparent, and so this is about a man who is - to put it simply - deceitful. What else might Ron Huberman be hiding? What else is he ashamed of? 

Daley and Huberman, intelligent men both, understood this and undoubtedly discussed an announcement of Huberman's gayness before the announcement that he was the one chosen by Daley to head CPS. I believe it is safe to say that, had Daley chosen Huberman to head up Streets and Sanitation, there would have been no announcement that Huberman is gay. There would have been no political reason to. Daley and Huberman were smart enough to realize immediately, however, that as CPS chief, Huberman's sexual orientation would have come to light sooner than later. Better to come forth with it publicly and early on, they probably reasoned, rather than have it leaked or revealed and let the story spin itself out of control. It was a brilliant thing to do. 

As I said, it exposed a dishonesty on the part of Huberman. He was dishonest to his own gay community. To have pretended not be with them was disrespectful and insulting. Some Chicago gays knew he was homosexual, but as many surprised commenters on the gay websites have demonstrated, most did not. 

I finished my post with this:

In short Huberman has been living a public lie. He has insulted the LGBT community by hiding his homosexuality. How's that for "pride?" How does one justify that in this day and age, when tolerance for gays is virtually universal in this country? What does Huberman's dishonesty about the essence of what and who he is say about his overall character?

WCW wrapped up his/her angry post with this:

What is immoral with hiring a gay man with an excellent resume and proven track record to run a school system? Awe bigotry, isn't amazing. [sic]

I never said that hiring Huberman was "immoral," although I did criticize Daley's decision to put Huberman in charge of CPS, which is a more complicated creature than CTA is, based only on what I perceive as his shoddy performance as head of CTA. As for bigotry being amazing, well, it certainly can be. It can blind one to reason and clear thinking, as WCW has shown us. The false perception of bigotry is equally amazing. What's disturbing, however, is the assumption - indeed, the prejudiced expectation - of bigotry, and then seeing bigotry where none exists. 

To wrap all of this up, and provide myself with one more opportunity to mock Windy City Watch, let me say that I would like WCW to explain to me how Huberman being ashamed of his sexual orientation and so keeping it a secret is not disturbing. 

I agree, as I have written more than once, that it is his own private business and has no impact on his ability to serve the people of Chicago admirably and honorably. The heterophobic, paranoid neanderthals over at IR might be startled to learn that over their many collective years of schooling a few of their teachers most likely belonged to GLBT community. 

14 Year Old Boy Impersonates Mayor of Chicago

How the hell does the idiot Mayor of Chicago keep getting re-elected? By now, you've all heard about the 14 year old boy who impersonated a Chicago police officer. In yesterday's Chicago Tribune, Daley was quoted as defending - hang on, this gets frikking weirder by the sentence - as defending Police Superintendent Jody Weis's decision to have the US Secret Service investigate the boy and the utter lack of prudence by police officials. That kid would have been asked for a photo ID by just about any 7-Eleven clerk if he'd asked for cigarettes. The cops just hand out cars now without an ID? To little boys? And the Secret Service is investigating?!? And the CPD can't do its own internal investigation?!?!? WTF!?!?! The Tribune quoted Mayor Daley: "What bothers me is I’d hate to see it at Halloween if everybody walks in – a 12- or 14-year-old walks into a police station on Halloween, they'll be handed a desk. They'll give them a car. They'll give them a badge … That's a real concern that we have." Well, maybe now it's a real concern, but obviously it was not much of one when the kid bamboozled half the CPD. God Almighty, and Mayor Daley thinks Weis is just wonderful for asking the Secret Service to do the investigation? By the way, doesn't the Secret Service have more urgent things to worry about? I might be wrong, but I think they do. Okay, so after giving his stamp of approval to a police superintendent whose force allowed a kid, a boy, to fake his way into a uniform and a squad car, Mayor Daley goes on to give his stamp of approval to Ron Huberman, his pick for new head of Chicago Public Schools. And what is the reason that Daley gave for thinking Huberman is the perfect guy for they job? What the...!?!? Why, Huberman's perfect because he has no experience at running a school system! Really!!! Nobody could make this shit up, people! If you wrote this as a screenplay you'd be laughed out of the producer's office. Hell, it would never make past the first reading, actually, but here's Mayor Daley blessing two of his top guys - one for not doing his job well, the other for knowing nothing about the job he's about to take on! Huh?!?! CNB RSS Feed

Huberman Flies Into the Gay-dar

(UPDATED 2/3/09: See Illinois Review's reaction to this post.) 

I don't usually care what somebody's sexual orientation is so long as it only involves consenting adults.

In the case of Chicago's new public schools chief, however, it matters very much. As I wrote on January 28, "Duncan is Daley's Golden Boy, popular in the gay community (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it neither disqualifies nor qualifies somebody to run a school system)."

Ron Huberman is a homosexual. That's not a judgment. It's a fact. 

It's no surprise to some people, but a big surprise to most. Until very recently, he was the head of the Chicago Transit Authority. Huberman left CTA with a bloated bureaucracy, rotting infrastructure, and a history of threatening service strikes if they couldn't extort enough money from the state legislature. Mayor Daley chose him to head the Chicago Public Schools last week, and has many very upset. "Outrage" and "Ron Huberman" are words commonly heard in the same sentence these days.

Last Sunday, Illinois Review published a post titled " Mayor's 'pet' and new CPS CEO is gay." In that post, the reasons why Huberman's homosexuality matters are explained well. There is an aspect to the story that IR - and the Sun-Times story they draw on - missed, and that's Huberman's dishonesty. Up til now, Huberman has been flying under the gay-dar. That is, many of us knew or suspected that he was gay, but he did not wear it on his sleeve. Stories about him slinking around the gay clubs along Halsted and Broadway in Boys' Town (usually at Sidetrack) have circulated for years, but he did not acknowledge it publicly.

Suddenly, however, Huberman could no longer hide this fact when, in the wake of Daley's announcement, gay blogs throughout Chicago were emblazoned with posts screaming about Huberman finally coming out of the closet. Comments sections were steaming, too.

Take a look at these excerpted comments from gay website towelroad.com:

Posted by: jack Jan 27, 2009 9:47:47 AM does this guy have a porn past? he looks very familiar... 

Posted by: CUB Jan 27, 2009 9:53:09 AM Dunno if he's qualified for that job, but he sure is a cutie! If more cops looked like him, I'd stay in trouble! ;) 

Posted by: Luke Jan 27, 2009 10:49:51 AM I always had a crush on Ron whenever he was featured on the local news here, and he even had a starring role as my future-husband in my fantasies , but I didn't even know he was gay until now. I guess my gaydar isn't broken beyond repair after all! :-)

Huberman has dazzled not only Mayor Daley for years, but is now dazzling much of Chicago's gay community.

A post at chicagocarless.com said this on January 31 (emphasis added): As all of Boystown–and all of Chicago media, for that matter–already knows quite well, Ron Huberman is a proud gay man. (It wasn’t exactly a secret in that gay-friendly Chicago North Side neighborhood considering how many times the phrase has been uttered, “Did you see Ron at Sidetrack last night?”)

Huh? Huberman is dazzling people out of their wits, is what he's doing. The author of the chicagocarless post called Huberman "a proud gay man."

Oh, really? "Proud?" Then tell us why the proudly gay Huberman waited until now to admit that he's gay. Does that sound like "pride" to you? And are you ready to admit that he probably would not have gone public had it not been for his outing in the gay media?

When I, a straight guy, simply said that he was "popular in the gay community," I stopped short of outing the man. I did that out of respect for his privacy. How much respect have gay websites shown Huberman by outing him for nothing more than a petty, selfish desire to seize upon some misdirected need to self actuate?

In short, Huberman has been living a public lie. He has insulted the LGBT community by hiding his homosexuality. How's that for "pride?" How does one justify that in this day and age, when tolerance for gays is virtually universal in this country? What does Huberman's dishonesty about the essence of what and who he is say about his overall character? 

The Huberman Stink

Did something die under a couch in here? No, that smell is Ron Huberman, Chicago Mayor Daley's Waterboy and newest head of Chicago Public Schools. When the Blagojevich Crime Spree was finally crushed as the Illinois Senate removed him from office this week, it seemed like Chicago politics might become ho-hum until Blago's federal criminal trial begins. Silly us. Chicago politics is never ho-hum. But like a late Christmas gift, Mayor Daley named Ron Huberman to replace Arne Duncan as head of Chicago Public Schools. Chicago's City Council could still reject Huberman, and a number of local leaders are calling on them to do just that. Duncan was chosen by Barack Obama to be the nation's Secretary of Education, which means that every American will now be guaranteed a Chicago-quality schooling experience (be afraid, be very afraid). Huberman, until a few days ago the head of the inept Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), will undoubtedly bring his CTA style to the local government schools (be afraid, be very, very afraid). This has caused much outrage in Chicago. Many people are upset with the choice of Huberman. A sampling of that outrage follows: Ron Huberman "in over his head" Black leaders say no to Huberman for CPS Black leaders lament Huberman appointment Selection of Huberman just a bad choice Daley's appointment fishy Ron Huberman booed, heckled at his 1st school board meeting Jesse Jackson Slams Choice Of Huberman As New CPS Chief Some Teacher's Don't Want Huberman Why Daley Is Wrong to Move Huberman Transit Riders Still Second-Class in Second City Unauthorized BIO on Ron Hubberman Hubba Hubba Huberman!... CNB RSS Feed

Ron Huberman "In Over His Head"

We said it on Sunday. Days later, the president of the Chicago Teacher's Union said it, too. We said that Ron Huberman, most recently the CTA president, is not the right pick to replace Arne Duncan as the head of the Chicago Public Schools. Duncan recently became the new US Sec. of Edumuhkashun. On Tuesday, Mayor Daley appointed Huberman to replace him. Daley could have chosen from thousands of better candidates, but probably could not have found a better waterboy. A WLS report today tells us that "Chicago Teacher's Union president Marilyn Stewart said this is not the CTA, this is far more complex and we are not scheduling buses, we are educating children." Stewart, reports WLS, was called by Mayor Daley, who told her about his choice of Huberman. "I was really speechless. I was like, where did you get Ron Huberman from? I didn't understand the rationale for that." We understand it. Duncan is Daley's Golden Boy, popular in the gay community (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it neither disqualifies nor qualifies somebody to run a school system). Huberman is a good fundraiser, and he lends a pretty public face to Daley's haggard administration. Education-oriented blogs are upset about the Huberman pick, too. For example, a post today at MoreAboutEducation.info says this: "It's not so objectionable to me that Huberman is the third white guy in a row to head a school system that is overwhelmingly black and Latino. It's not that a non-educator can't run a big city school system. It's not even that Duncan's pick — Barbara Eason-Watkins — would necessarily have done a better job. Rather, it's the absence of any kind of national search that might bring in a new energy and thinking for CPS, and — perhaps most of all — Duncan's decision to support a decision he clearly disagrees with. Come on, man. Stand up." (Full post...) Huberman has not managed CTA well. He has not made changes in the CTA where they really count. Although he brags that the trains and buses run well, those of us who use then daily know that you'll lose money every time if you bet one will arrive on schedule. Huberman leaves a CTA with a bloated bureaucracy. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to spruce up a few selected stations, while stations just down the street are left to rot because the folk there don't have clout. (See the slide show below, which shows CTA infrastructure decay.) It's nice that the Howard Station is being renovated, but does it really need a $250,000 piece of artwork? Security at many stations is lax or virtually absent. For decades, storefronts on CTA property have remained vacant, a wasted source of potential income for the CTA, which annually whines about budget woes. Now, Huberman will take on a larger bureaucracy. Like CTA, CPS has infrastructure problems. Huberman made spotty cosmetic changes at CTA, but nothing substantial. His record gives us no indication that he will address CPS infrastructure differently. Marilyn Stewart is correct when she says that running the schools is more complex than running the CTA. Mayor Daley should have chosen someone who had a track record of running a school system, not running political footballs down the field. RELATED: Lenz: Huberman "Knows Nothing About Education" Let's Get Real About Huberman Reaction to New Schools Chief Mayor Daley is Faking It HUBERMAN'S LEGACY: CTA ROT CNB RSS Feed

Ron Huberman Next CPS Chief?

God Help Chicago. There are hot rumors out there that CTA chief Ron "Caboose" Huberman might replace Arne Duncan's old position as the head of Chicago Public Schools (source) . Duncan just became the new US Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration. Huberman is a slick salesman and former cop who has trouble balancing budgets, assuring the safety of CTA customers and making trains run on schedule, but Mayor Daley apparently has him on a list of people to run the schools? Huberman seems to be Daley's Golden Boy. In September, 2007 Huberman was on Daley's short list for the position of Superintendent of Police. Are we to believe that there aren't several principals out there who could run CPS better than Ronnie Huberman? Gimme a break. ALSO: Could CTA's Huberman Be Getting an Education? Douche of the Day: Ron Huberman Joe Moore's CTA Hysteria Derailed Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

CTA TIF Meeting: Resistance is Futile

Weird meeting with CTA President Ron Huberman last night to discuss the ongoing renovation of the Howard Street CTA Station. The meeting was in gymnasium at Gale Elementary School in Rogers Park. Huberman were here to placate the little folks (us) by pretending to care about how we care about our own neighborhood. Huberman spent about five minutes telling us that he was once a beat cop in the hood. Dunno if that was to establish a bond with us, to threaten us subtly by pointing out that he's good with a gun, or what. Alderman Moore (49th Ward) was there and said a whole lot of nothing, as usual. Look, let's be honest. Moore doesn't give a crap about this or you or me, really, and Huberman already has his mind made up to grab 4.7 million bucks from the Howard Street TIF. One of the attendees asked Huberman, in an eloquent mini-speech, why he doesn't keep his mitts off the local TIF dough and dip into the tens of millions of dollars being pissed away to mothball CTA's Magnificent Failure at Block 37 in the Loop. No answer from Huberman to that, of course. I won't bore you with fine details - it doesn't matter because this is another done deal put before us to try to make us think we're involved. We ain't, folks, and lemme tell ya, Ron Huberman could sell shit to a maggot. Joe Moore, for instance, seems to have bought all the shit that Huberman has placed before him. Joe oughta watch Ron. Ron pretends he's interested in what people are saying, like Joe tries to do, but Huberman is more convincing. Daley's Golden Boy, Huberman is able to send out these weird hypno rays from his eyes to try to stupify us (see photo). You could see them if you looked close enough, but the ray seem to work only on stupid people. The room was filled with about 45 people, most of whom seemed to be too smart for Ron's eye rays. Huberman tried to frighten us by threatening to stop work on the half-finished Howard Station renovation. BS about the escalators needing to be completely enclosed, for example, even though the escalators at Loyola Station have been open to rain and snow exposure for years with no real problem. Huberman lied. He cajoled. He pouted. He made Jim Ginderske uncomfortable, for Jim found himself in the uncomfortable position of not being the prettiest boy in the room. Unfortunately, as I said, the TIF money for this over-budgeted, beyond projected completion, a done deal. This was all for show. Bottom line: CTA will rape and pillage as needed, they will threaten some miniature local version of a Doomsday scenario if we stand in their way, and ultimately, we will not be able to resist. Resistance is futile, folks.