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Chance The Rapper held a press conference today at Westcott Elementary School in Chicago where he announced that he is donating $1 million to the city’s public schools. The press conference was live streamed from the rapper’s social media accounts.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) March 6, 2017
Last week, the 23-year-old recording artist met with Illinois governor Bruce Rauner to discuss the city’s public education school system. Unfortunately, Chance left the meeting feeling “a little bit flustered, just a little bit frustrated.” He later tweeted this message to his followers:
Chicago Public Schools and I did not lose today. Please don't let that become the narrative. Monday morning I'll have a plan.
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) March 3, 2017
The first part of the plan Chance spoke of was revealed Monday, with the hip-hop artist referring to public education in Chicago as an “urgent need.”
“Gov. Rauner can use his executive power to give Chicago’s children the resources they need to fulfill their God-given right to learn,” Chance said. “Our talks were unsuccessful.” The rapper said that Rauner was unwilling to compromise without caveats and ultimatums.
“Our kids should not be held hostage because of political positioning,” Chance continued. “If the governor does not act, CPS will be forced to end school 13 days early, which means over 380,000 kids will not have adult supervised activities in June and could possibly be put in harm’s way.”
Earlier on Monday, Rauner proposed some funding ideas in a memo obtained by the Chicago Tribune. One such idea involves new legislation that enables Mayor Rahm Emanuel to “tap into” the city’s tax increment financing funds to help cover the $215 million gap. The other proposal would require a significantly larger retooling of Illinois’ pension retirement program, according to the Tribune.
