Daley Defends CPS Clout Admissions

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Sep 23, 2009 9:45PM

Just as the president of a major university was forced to resign for clout admissions, Mayor Daley defended a rule for some elite Chicago Public Schools that allow principals to handpick five percent of the students admitted, practices that have resulted in at least two aldermen getting their children admitted after calls to the principal. Reacting to accusations of unfairness, Mayor Daley said:

“You have to have confidence in principals. Say a child gets a C-plus. You know that child can achieve. He or she could be a slow reader. Or they’re not a good tester. This idea [that] you’re gonna test everybody — you’re gonna have very few peple in the 99.9 percentile,” Daley said...

“There’s no political intrusion,” Daley said. “You have someone calling. Yes, there’s been an alderman call on behalf of their child. But, the principal is gonna say, ‘This is not right for your child. I can get this child in. But, they’re never gonna compete. They’re never gonna move ahead. So what is the best interest of the child?’”

Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd) and Anthony Beale (9th) were the two aldermen who had children admitted via the phone calls to the principal, Whitney Young H.S.'s Joyce Kenner, but both deny using any sort of pressure to get their children admitted.