text: 'B' Word Hits Chicago: Illinois Governor Proposes Bankruptcy for Chicago Public School System | Mike Shedlock | Safehaven.com
  'B' Word Hits Chicago: Illinois Governor Proposes ...
  'B' Word Hits Chicago: Illinois Governor Proposes Bankruptcy for Chicago Public School System
  As a direct result of those problems, the Chicago Board of Education, the nation's third-largest district, is under fiscal siege. The CBOE operating deficit is projected to reach $1 billion a year through 2020.
  The solution, proposed by Governor Bruce Rauner and key Republican leaders on January 20, is a State Takeover and Bankruptcy for Chicago Schools.
  Christine Radogno and Jim Durkin, the state's top Republicans in the legislature, outlined a proposal Wednesday that would allow the state to take control and even push the system, charged with educating almost 400,000 students, into Chapter 9.
  "What we're proposing is a lifeline," state Senator Radogno told reporters in Chicago. "We didn't come to this lightly. The track record of Chicago and its public school system is abysmal."
  Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, a Republican who has been at odds for months with the Democrat-controlled legislature over the state budget, has said he won't bail out Chicago's school system unless Mayor Rahm Emanuel supports limits on unions or other proposals he's seeking to enact.
  "The mayor is 100 percent opposed to Gov. Rauner's 'plan' to drive CPS bankrupt," Emanuel's spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, said in a statement. "If the governor was serious about helping Chicago students, he should start by proposing -- and passing -- a budget that fully funds education and treats CPS students like every other child in the state."
  Chicago's school district bonds have been cut to junk by all three major credit-rating companies. On Tuesday, Fitch Ratings lowered its grade on $6.1 billion of general-obligation debt by three steps to B+, four ranks below investment grade. Bonds due in 2039 traded on Jan. 15 for an average of 88 cents on the dollar to yield 6.5 percent.