CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago Public Schools board has voted to approve a $175 million pension payment to the city.
In a special board meeting Thursday, there was a unanimous vote in favor of the payment.
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Thursday’s decision comes after the Chicago Board of Education approved a balanced CPS budget in August, closing a $730 million shortfall.
A battle had been brewing over whether Chicago Public Schools or the city was responsible for the $175 million pension payment.
The pension fund includes CPS and city employees. State law requires the city to pay for it, but the city faces it own budget deficit.
After presenting his city budget proposal earlier this month, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke with ABC7 and defended his plan to sweep a billion dollars in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds, more than half of which would to Chicago Public Schools.
“A TIF surplus goes to our City Colleges; it goes to our parks, goes to our libraries,” Johnson said. “Because that’s the way the law is designed, and so investing in CPS, that’s a good thing, right? And so what I’m simply saying is that I know that there are people who are thirsty to make it about the Chicago Teachers Union. They’re short-sighted; they are short-sighted because the larger, bigger picture ensures that not just our public schools are fully supported at a time in which President Trump is attacking public education.”
This is a developing story.
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