Chance The Rapper Was Not Happy With His Meeting With Gov. Rauner
By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 3, 2017 7:05PM
Chance the Rapper / Photo: Tyler LaRiviere
Updated 1:40 p.m. Chance the Rapper left visibly frustrated from his much-ancitipated meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner about public school funding on Friday, according to reporters on the scene at the Thompson Center.
“He gave me a lot of vague answers," Chance said in video posted by NBC Chicago reporter Mary Ann Ahern. "So we'll see what happens. He has my personal number…Springfield is in session next week, so we’ll see what happens."
According to the Sun-Times, Chance said he brought up the $215 million package for Chicago Public Schools that Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed late last year. “He asked me where I thought the $215 million was supposed to come from," Chance reportedly said.
"The kids are on the table right now," Chance said in a clip posted by WTTW reporter Amanda Vinicky.
.@chancetherapper leaves meeting with @GovRauner apparently disappointed with "vague answers." pic.twitter.com/E0nUVzDhb8
— Amanda Vinicky (@AmandaVinicky) March 3, 2017
Rauner said he and Chance agreed to speak again within the next several days, according to the Tribune. He also sounded, well, kinda vague. "We had a discussion about education and education funding. Good exchange of views on what the options are, what the possibilities are," Rauner said, via the Trib.
Rauner later Tweeted that they discussed the financial needs of schools that serve low-income students:
.@chancetherapper and I talked about the imp. of getting more money for all school children in Illinois, especially low-income children.
— Bruce Rauner (@GovRauner) March 3, 2017
Also, to absolutely no one's surprise, it appears as if the governor maybe isn't actually all that familiar with Chance's music either, based on his answer when asked about his favorite Chance track.
Asked if he has a favorite Chance song, Rauner said he has listened to "a lot" of his music and that it's "innovative and creative"
— Claire Donnelly (@donnellyclairee) March 3, 2017
Chance also had pointed words for the media as he left: "Complex, Billboard, people that post about me walking down the street and shit, if you guys could give a comprehensive history of how we ended up here," he said in Ahern's clip.
Chance was more optimistic about the meeting in a later Tweet Friday afternoon, saying he would come up with a plan to help Chicago Public Schools more, to be announced Monday morning:
Chicago Public Schools and I did not lose today. Please don't let that become the narrative. Monday morning I'll have a plan.
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) March 3, 2017
Chance requested the meeting after Rauner sent him a note of congratulations on Twitter following the rapper's triple win at the Grammys. A previously scheduled meeting was canceled after Rauner spent portions of Wednesday and Thursday.
Rauner vetoed the CPS-funding bill in December claiming that state Congressional Democrats had not done enough to provide broader pension reforms. Since the veto, CPS has mandated four furlough days for teachers and announced a $46 million freeze in discretionary spending. Some $15 million was reinstated after the Latino Advisory Committee resigned in protest when a Sun-Times investigation revealed that the cuts disproportionately impacted Hispanic-majority schools.
CPS slapped Rauner and the Board with a lawsuit in mid-February that alleges discriminatory funding practices.