Thursday, November 19, 2009
Politics / Clout City CPS Pres Michael Scott's Backroom Meeting at Edna's
Posted by Ben Joravsky on 11.19.09 at 05:46 PM
One day in 2006, Chicago School Board president Michael Scott sat down for breakfast with CPS chief Arne Duncan, Congressman Danny Davis, and state senator Rickey Hendon in the back room of a soul food restaurant on the west side. They must have expected a quiet discussion in the otherwise empty space, but the party was crashed by some activists with a video camera in hand. The discussion involved school closings, and I wrote about it at the time.
Now Michael Scott is dead, and the video has surfaced in three parts on YouTube, under the heading "Selling Out the Community."
Hendon tells the crashers to "kiss my ass," but Scott has the last word. As I wrote back then, "'Some people say it's a sellout meeting,' McKinley says to Scott. 'People say a lot of things,' Scott replies as he drives off. 'They say you're ugly, and I agree with them.'"
Here are parts two:
And three:
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
like
dislike
You are a despicable piece of garbage for posting this.
Let the man rest in peace.
Man, this is classic video on how backroom deals are done. They really were in a backroom! This was probably a meeting about the possible tear down of Collins H.S. if Chicago would have won the Olympics. Thank God that didn't happen and would someone smart and articulate finally run against Danny Davis old ass, LOL! Kudos to Mark Carter keeping the fire on their asses!
As a follower of Mr. Henry George, ALL of you fellow Chicagoans MUST already KNOW the pols & big shots, of this local area & the state too for that matter, have NEVER, EVER, had your interests at heart!!! I say that we MUST ALL form a permanent coaltion NOT ONLY to elect me Mayor of Chicago, & Gov. of Illinois, an active, on-going coaltion NOT JUST to STOP & TOTALLY ELIMINATE in-voluntary job-lessness, home-lessness, & poverty, WE MUST STOP & eliminate monopoly & speculation of ALL land, including PRIME farm-land, & other natural resources, including FRESH water!!!
What would Chicago be without back rooms? My first encounter with Scott happened, I think, when he was park board president. I was writing a long and no doubt eye-glazing feature story for a fine, fine local alt-weekly, about these two neighborhood groups fighting over naming rights to a new park. They took their disagreement all the way up to Scott, so he had to help them hammer out a deal. I showed up at this meeting only to get locked out of the room! The actual issue was relatively trivial, only of interest to two small groups, and I probably missed nothing that wasn't easily gathered afterwards. And that neatly illustrates what's wrong with Chicago. When the public-business-behind-closed-doors habit is so reflexive and ingrained that it applies even to small decisions, you can be sure this is doubly, triply and *more* true of the big ones.
I also happened to have been around at a private function a few years ago where Mr. Scott was being feted by the mayor for his years of service. (Was it his birthday? I forget. Some sort of milestone.) Scott praised Daley; Daley praised Scott; they showed a slick film, with the feel of a 5-minute campaign ad, in which Daley and Scott further congratulated themselves and each other for their test-score-raising achievements and overall awesomeness. I have no idea whether the event and video were taxpayer-funded. But in the City of Big Shoulders, Big Business, Big Government, Big Ripoffs, and Big Egos -- why not.
HGGWW, are you a follower of Henry George, or his ghost?
I'd just like to know because, well, I have read Henry George, and I seem to remember his literary style being a bit more ornate.
