CHICAGO - Republican candidates for the General Assembly recently stood for school choice at an outdoor exercise in free speech near the Democratic National Convention.
They protested the shutdown of Invest in Kids, a tax credit that enrolled 9,656 students in parochial and private schools in 2022-23.
Legislators created the credit in 2016 and authorized $75 million a year for seven years.
Current legislators let the credit expire last Dec. 31, meaning nearly all scholarship recipients would enroll in public schools for this school year.
As Chicago prepared for the convention, city officials announced they would hold a free speech forum at a park across the elevated train line from the United Center.
Illinois Policy Institute secured an invitation and its vice president for government affairs, Jim Long, opened the event.
Long said Invest in Kids provided opportunities to prepare for college and impactful occupations.
He said pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union made it impossible to take a vote on keeping the credit, and that Democrats who vote against the union risk defeat in the party primary.
“The parents thought their kids had an out,” Long said.
“75 million dollars is a bridge or a water park. Billions are flying through like monopoly money.
“Kids are back to being bullied in school.”
Illinois House District 53 candidate Ronald Andermann, of Arlington Heights, called the enrollment of former Invest in Kids scholars in public schools a form of child abuse.
Andermann said he hopes his three daughters can choose schools for their children.
“I want to give that choice to other kids,” he said.
District 6 candidate Sean Dwyer, of Chicago, said 65% of the city’s public school students can’t read at grade level and 73% can’t perform at grade level in math.
He said percentages are worse for nonwhite students.
“We spend $29,000 per student per year for that degree of under performance,” Dwyer said. “Parochial school tuition might be $12,000 and top private schools are $25,000 to $30,000.”
District 34 candidate Frederick Walls, of Crete, said, “Let’s get away from the indoctrination of the public school system.”
He compared voters to a chief executive in a company going in the wrong direction.
“It’s time to send Democrat politicians home,” Walls said. “All we have is high taxes, failing schools and high crime. All they care about is staying in power and filling their pockets.”
District 13 candidate Terry Le, of Chicago, said, “We need to keep identity politics out of schools. We need transparency for parents.”
District 19 candidate John Zimmers, of suburban Chicago, said, “Peace comes from prosperity, prosperity comes from opportunity, and opportunity comes from freedom.”
“That party has run Chicago since 1931," he said. "What have you got to lose?”
Nobody applauded the candidates but nobody objected either, because the free speech forum failed for two days to attract an audience.
Police who anticipated protests in the park couldn’t hide their relief.
Six officers stood at the eastern edge of the park between events and conversed while music floated from a police vehicle.
A visitor who recognized the song expressed surprise that six Chicago Police chose to listen to the Rolling Stones.
Five laughed and pointed at the sixth.
He had chosen Sympathy for the Devil, Mick Jagger’s sermon on the power of evil.