CPS to Cut Teachers, UChicago Covers Tuition, and Lolla Schedule Drops

Bloomington, Indiana's always been a town of lifelong learners, lectures that run long, dinner table debates that run longer. We're always studying something. But this year, the syllabus changed. We learned about blitzes and blocks, pick sixes, and play action. And what the inside of that outside stadium looks like on a sunny Saturday afternoon. We may not always understand the whole thing, but man, if it isn't fun to learn. Visit Bloomington, learn something new. Today on Citicash Chicago, we're talking about CPS's latest budget deficit. The University of Chicago is covering tuition for more students. And when was the last time Lala was actually worth the ticket price? It's Monday, May 18th. I'm Simone Alisea in for Jacoby Cochran, and this is what Chicago's talking about. I'm joined today by a Citicash Chicago contributor, Jill Hopkins. Jill, welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me, Simone. We've also gotten the building creative producer, Michelle Navarro. Michelle, welcome back. Hello, Simone. Hi, Jill. I feel like this time of year, the school year is like winding to a close. Kids are ready, summer break, on the horizon. But there is somehow a lot of education news kind of coming out right now. I want to start with K through 12, CPS, Chicago Public Schools. And then the story that I think is like the big chronic thorn in our sides is the district budget. Michelle, how big? is the shortfall this year? And how does CPS say they're going to plug the gap? The budget gap is $732 million, which is quite alarming. Now, because of this... budget gap. Chicago Public Schools is, of course, trying to minimize it. And what they're planning to do is cut teacher positions and increase class sizes. This is the first time in three years that CPS is proposing this type of cut to classrooms, like a cut that will directly impact classrooms. You know, CPS didn't say last week how many teacher positions they would actually cut. But an analysis from WBEZ and Sun-Times estimated that between a 700 and 800 teachers could be laid off using the district's funding formula. Other things they decided to possibly cut would be smaller schools could get rid of their assistant principal positions. But like I mentioned, this was pretty alarming because this is the first time that CPS was, you know, cutting positions that would directly impact students in the classroom. Yeah, I mean, we've been saying this for the last couple years every time, every summer, as we have these really intense budget debates, right? And we've talked so much about sort of the nitty gritty of the pension payment, right? This controversial pension payment, is CPS going to pay for it or is the city going to pay for it? And this year we know the city's going to pay for it. That seems to have been resolved. This issue over access to funding is, which is dictated by the mayor and the city, right? Are they going to give the district more funding?

that is coming out of these specialized taxing districts, sort of surplus to funding. And again, that seems to be resolved this year. We know that already that is going to happen. The city has budgeted for it. And so far, we haven't seen anything yet that the district is like asking for more of that money. But. We have found all the coins in the couch cushions. Like the budget gap that we're seeing for this year is not dissimilar from the budget gaps. We've seen the past couple years, particularly as that COVID funding has drived up. That's been a huge... problem for school districts around the country, but as we know, for CPS in particular. Whatever your cliche of choice, the rubber's hitting the road, the chickens have come to roost, whatever, whatever, like, we're here. Like, this is probably going to affect classrooms. There are going to be some really, really tough decisions this summer, of course, as interim CEO McEling King becomes. Permanent CEO McEling King during this transition. You know, last year, because of the budget constraints, the district cut custodial positions, right? And I recall this at the time, this was sort of like, hey, if we don't cut, you know, janitor's custodians, then we'll have to cut teachers, right? It was sort of like, at least we're not cutting, you know, instructional time. But. Michelle, how has this actually played out for schools that have lost some of these custodians? Yeah, Simone's, like you mentioned, CPS cut around 500 custodian jobs, and they also ended private custodial contracts. And then because of this, you know, a survey obtained by chalkbeat found that nearly three quarters of principals that they surveyed so that they don't have enough custodians to maintain school cleanliness. I mean, what else would you expect, right? The majority of remaining custodians also reported that it's difficult to manage their tasks. They're struggling to keep these schools clean. And... It's hard. Like I think about when I was in CPS and I think about how important it is for children to have a safe, clean environment. When children are in a safe, clean environment, they feel better about themselves. They feel more confident. You know, no one wants to be somewhere where they're eight hours a day where they do not have the appropriate cleanliness in their schools. And, you know, again. Macklin King said that they're trying to find ways to save money. She said everything's on the table when it comes to this budget. Everything's on the table. But you have to think about it. You're like, these things are important for students and for their learning environment. Of course, like cutting teachers really does mean that classes could increase. But then other people are saying, we're reporting that CPS enrollment is down. So will it?

Will it actually impact? Yeah, student-to-teacher ratio. Like, will that really impact? So there's a lot of things kind of up in the air still. Again, we're still not sure how many teaching positions will be cut from what schools. And so, yeah, it's just kind of a wait and see thing, especially because the final budget, you know, last year, they didn't even finalize the budget until late August, right, right, right before school was actually in session. It's interesting, too, because. You know, the thing that I was thinking about on this is like, right, the Chicago Teachers Union just won this big contract, right? And, you know, part of that contract stipulates class sizes, right? That's included in some of those provisions. you know, the union for their part so far is sort of laying the blame mostly at the state. They're like the state isn't giving us enough money, you know, the state funding formula. Even, you know, based on their own evidence, their own formula, they're not giving us what we think CPS is supposed to be getting. But of course, like. As we've been talking about the session in Springfield now for a few months, and, like, that is not real. More money for CPS is not really on the table right now. It's not what lawmakers are really focused on. And so I will be curious to see how that positioning from the Chicago Teachers Union changes as we go into this. You know, you mentioned, like, how important it is for. you know, classrooms to be clean, for schools to be clean. It was so interesting. I was a judge on an audio competition several years ago, and one of the entries was by a group of students at a CPS school. And they put together, it was a fiction, they put together this like audio fiction that was like a horror story hour. And the stories were all about. conditions at their school. Like, there was a, one of the stories was about, like, a water fountain that, you know, had a crazy zombie virus in it or something like that or about a mold in a bathroom, right? They were taking stuff that they were observing in their school environment and literally turning it into a horror story. And I think about that all the time. Like, these are, like, middle school kids and the way that they are taking what their lived experiences, what they're observing, and turning it. into that kind of fiction. Like that is the effect of something like this, right? Like when your school is dirty, it makes a big difference. And how can you ask students, how can you ask children to respect themselves, respect their environment, respect their teachers when they don't feel respected in the building that they're told to be in? It's hard and it doesn't really set up students to feel like they belong in a place that they're respected in. And so I think about, you know, I was lucky that I went to a newer middle school and high school that I think just had higher expectations. But I think about my peers that ended up going to older schools that had less resources than I, than my school did. And so you can really tell the difference in how people, you know, how you're treated.

This sort of like made up idea. You know, we talked a lot about this last week with our contributor, Anna Deshaun. And, you know, we've talked about these over the past several months as the Trump administration has continuously targeted, not just Chicago, but targeted education writ large across both, you know, public schools, K through 12, but also higher education as well. And sort of using these laws, the Civil Rights Act Title IX, like the whole point of these laws was to. was to make things more equitable, right? The whole point. That was what they were there for. So the idea that we're using these laws as a cover to try to silence, because that's the point here is they want to silence educators. They just would rather us. not talk about gender identity, sexual orientation, or whatever the case might be. And it's interesting because this committee had asked King to testify voluntarily several times. And King was sort of like, eh. We've got, I don't know, you guys are investigating us. I don't know if it's a good idea for me to come testify. I got things to do. I got conflicts. And now this is a subpoena. So now it's like if she doesn't go and testify, like there could be real consequences. And, and, you know, yeah, it is like, I would rather have her focused on how to deal with this budget gap than out in D.C. testifying. in sort of a political witch hunt. You know what I mean? Like that's the thing about this story that really gets me. It's like we have other things that we really need to be solving and dealing with than participating in this sort of like, I don't know, a farce show. It's just a thing to happen for the cameras to watch and talk about. Yeah, but I mean, the consequences could be really real. Like last year, CPS faced a lot of scrutiny from the education department, right, for over their black student success plan. This like group was trying to say that they were being discriminatory by only focusing on black students. Ignoring the fact that, right, the whole point is that. Black students have been marginalized and have, right? Like, let's just ignore context entirely. Right. That's fine. Yeah. And so after that, you know, they pulled 8 million in federal grants. And so the consequences for this could be very dire for a district that is already facing such a huge deficit. It's scary. And like you said, yeah, we have bigger fish to fry, especially right now. But. This could be the bigger fish if things were... I suppose, yeah, I suppose that is in some ways the bigger fish. It doesn't seem that anyone who has any power to do anything in DC believes children are our future. Like...

What are we doing? Why does this seem like such a regressive thing to do? I mean, you can't cover your eyes and pretend that gender identity conversations aren't happening. And then to bring it to this level just seems like such a waste of resources to me. Staying in education, but I want to move into higher ed. Jill, the University of Chicago made a big announcement at the end of the week. What is happening here? They have decided to fulfill the financial needs of their admitted students, loan-free financial aid. So if your family makes under $250,000. you get free tuition at the University of Chicago. If your family makes less than $125,000, you get tuition, you get housing, you get meal plans, you get all of your fees taking care of. And while UFC's admittance still hovers around 4.5%. That's a huge deal for a lot of students, especially at a time where everything else costs so much money. And even state schools are looking a little... out of reach for a lot of people. Yeah, that bar, that sort of income cap, right, is relatively high when you're talking about, I mean, when you're talking about aid for anything, like, right? And for schools in particular, I mean, not to say that if you're making, if you're a family making $2.50k a year, that you're like super wealthy. But it is unusual to see sort of like. I think for in the mind, they're in the minds of many people, a family making 250K a year as a family that can afford a university. Now, can they avoid the University of Chicago necessarily? That's a different story. So, like, I think they're like combined costs for between tuition, housing, et cetera. It's pushing, it's like nearing $100,000 a year. Last year's was about $71,000. If you wanted to stay on campus, if you want it, room board, it was another $21,000. And they've done the math here. 90% of American families would qualify for this. And that's not nothing. They've doubled their annual expenditure since 2011. So they're sticking to this initiative that they've had. I'm curious what you make of this because I saw this. And I initially was a bit confused because I feel like so much of the news in recent months when it comes to higher ed, much like it has been with the school district. It's money troubles, right? We know that UChicago has been among the schools that has been the target of grant cuts by the Trump administration, right? We know that international enrollment has been down at universities in Chicago and across the country. And again, UChicago is certainly an institution that benefits from international students. And we also know that University of Chicago is trying to expand its class size, right, in order to try to get more people to come in order to get more. tuition money. So I guess, like, how do you have sort of these financial struggles? But then on the flip side, you're like, actually, we're going to start taking care of more families, getting more students in the door. I'm like trying to figure out how to square the circle here. I think they have a huge alumni set of support. The endowments that people are putting in there after.

Life care is really something that needs to be spoken of more. As in people who like put it in their will to like donate a bunch of money after after they pass. Yeah. That's how you get a building named after you. That's how you get a wing of a hospital named after you. And I think those are becoming much more frequent. And you know, UFC is not the only school doing this. And it's it's. Not the only school in the state, even where in the region. Northwestern has a program set up where the threshold is 70,000 and 150,000. And Harvard, Yale, MIT, Johns Hopkins, University of Pittsburgh, there's these sorts of programs happening across academia because they're... Honestly, they're losing a lot of their student body. They're losing a lot of these young minds because people just simply can't afford to attend higher education, especially not at a level that you've seen is. You know, it's so interesting because I remember when I was applying to schools, and this was such a big part of the calculus, was choosing what kind of institution to sort of aim at in hopes of... garnering a financial aid package, that would actually be the most. And so I went to Northwestern for school, and part of the calculus was a large, even a private institution that certainly cost more at the time. I think tuition was like, you know, 50K a year or something like that. And certainly costs more on paper. An institution like Northwestern is able to provide financial aid at a level that is much higher than... a lot of the small liberal arts schools that my peers were going to, or even depending on, like, if I was coming from out of state to doing out of state tuition at a public school, depending on kind of how that would go. And so I find that sort of strategy on the university's part of saying like, oh, well, if we're actually going to attract people, we have to kind of put up and actually, you know, use those big endowments that we get. for loan-free aid. I mean, think about how much more you could have gotten done with that brain space if you didn't have to do that calculus. Oh, how much more I could have gotten done in the past 10 years not paying off these student loans? That's the real thing. It is. And how many people go to a school that's not right for them, that's not catering to their specific set of interests or talents simply because it's the school that they are in their family can afford? And to your point, how many of us are paying back loans from 20 and 30 years ago, even if it wasn't a four-year education, right? People are still paying back trade school loans. They're still paying back community college loans. They're paying back, you know, certificate program loans. Or even if you're unable to complete the program, right? Exactly. Yeah, that doesn't go away if you decide to step away for whatever reason. You know, you still owe that. And it's just so prohibitive. Think about... how many more achievements in the world would have been done sooner or if we, or, you know, better if everyone could be educated in the way that they deserve to be. Michelle, what was your reaction when you saw this?

It made me so happy to think about all the CPS students that like I just feel like their world just opened up. I was trying to put myself in the shoes. Like if I was in high school right now and I heard about this, like I would be over the moon thinking, oh, wow, I actually have a chance at possibly because my attendance to college was contingent upon cost and funding 100%. I went to the school that gave me the best financial aid package. And that was always the plan because I knew that my, you know, I didn't want to be in. student loan debt. I didn't want to put my parents through debt. And so, yeah, it just makes me really excited. And it's such a prestigious university. And it's one that is so close to us as a South Sider. Like, it was always just right there for me. I lived on 55th. And so just to have this institution that was so close but felt unreachable, like for it to now feel. So open to Chicago book students, it just makes me really happy. Especially like you mentioned, Simone, it's such surprising good news and a time where funding for education is just getting tore up. I know, but the surprisingness of the good news makes me skeptical. Like it makes me, I'm like, what's the catch? Feed what's happening on the other side. Like what do you have to like give for this, right? Or just like what does this say? You know, does it say anything about the state of the university system or the state of higher ed? And, you know, I think there are so many challenges facing higher education. As we know, again. threats from the government, but also just, again, fewer people who feel like it is accessible to them or who feel like it's useful to them. And I do think, you know, some of that is of university's own creation, right? And so, yeah, there's always a part of me that's like, hmm, this seems like a good thing, but. Is it actually or is there something else going on here? One thing that I found that a lot of people were asking about in comments sections in, you know, in the posted articles, is there an age limit? Is this something that, interesting? Let's say your post, post-grad age. Sure. Is this something you can work around? Are they accommodating people who have had to put? life on the front burner and education on the back. I have not been able to find that, but the Jettix is itching to find out. I doubt it is. And you know what's interesting about UChicago? One of the reasons I didn't apply to UChicago is because they have a higher ratio of graduate students to undergraduate students compared to Northwestern. So actually, like, the population that's on campus is a bit older. than you might see at some other schools. So if that is something you're interested in, you, Chicago is a good place for it potentially. It's a bit more mature than your typical undergraduate campus. It's a grown-up place. Yeah. That's a better, that's a much better moniker than the place where fun goes to die. I have heard that about that campus, but the Woodlawn Tap says otherwise.

I hope their commitment to affordability really does push other Chicago institutions and institutions all over the country to, you know, double down on their commitment to, including students who normally wouldn't be able to, you know, take their school in account. Same. Moving away from education, now we're going to have some fun. We're really talking about summer break. The Lollapalooza day-by-day lineup has dropped. It's worth noting that there are still some one-day general admission tickets left, but the four-day passes are sold out across the levels. The VIP to the platinum, they're gone. No more four-day passes, just a wait list. But, you know, the return of Lala looking at that schedule and not recognizing... 98% of the artists who were on that list brought to mind for me a question, which is, when is the last time you feel like Lollapalooza was worth the ticket price? Jill, I'm curious what you think about this, because I know this is definitely in your world something you've been watching for a while, I feel. I was just a wee, Jill. back when it was still a traveling festival. And because of that, I was always grounded. So I never got to go until about 2007. And that was, you know, the daft punk year that everybody refers to. So I think the bar was set really high for me at first. And I've been to a few Coachella's. I've been to every riot fest. So, you know, festivals don't scare me necessarily. But Lollapalooza does a little bit. It is... Why is that? It's that girl. It is like the popular girl in school. It's the girl who always has her hair done and her nails done. She's always got the off and popping outfits. And, you know, that's like running into a bunch of them on the train and just hoping they don't make you cry.

And I work in live music, so I recognize more of the bands than I probably would if I didn't. But then I have to remember that they're not talking to me anymore. I am out of their demographic. You know, I went to 2007, 2010, every year between 2014 and 2019. But that was for work. That was me in the press area, getting it done, sweating. But the last time I went. For fun was in 2022 to see Metallica, because that's always hilarious to see Metallica at a young people festival. So is there a particular year you'd think you would go back to relive if you could? I'm going to say 2010 because I would love to see Soundgarden again one more time. We didn't know it was going to be your last chance until it had happened. And it was one of the best bands in the world. And they put on a heck of a show. I think a lot of people learned that day what those four men were capable of. Michelle, what about you? What was the year you'd go back to or the last year you thought it was worth the ticket price? So I've only gone to Alalapalooza once. Okay. And that was 2019. And so I would say because that was the year that I thought it was worth it and why I bought a ticket. Yeah, it was the year you had already decided. I got a one day pass. Okay. I believe I only went one day or two days. I'm not quite sure, but. It did not go all four days because the four day was still out of my budget back then. I was a college student. But I really wanted to go because I'm a big strokes fan. So the strokes were there. Childish Gambino. I'm a huge childish Gambino fan. And Tame Impala was there. And I love Tame and Paula as well. And so for me. That is a really good lineup. Yeah, it was really good. And so because of those three were headlining and they're three of like my favorite artist slash groups, I was like, okay, I have to go. And it was like a pre-graduation gift to myself. And I had so much fun. I definitely want to go back to Lollapalooza, but I just think like I'm more of like I can't do the four day. I would want to do one or two days. And it just I always tell myself, okay, if there's a day that like lines everyone that I want to see up, I would do it again. But. It just hasn't happened in the last couple of years. No, they split them up so that you can, so you have to go back. So you got to do it four days. I remember working. We were in the, I don't remember what year it was, but, you know, there was a lull. And we knew that there was going to be a big announcement about the next year because I think it was the 20th or 25th year. And everybody's speculating. What could it be? Are they going to do like a throwback day? Then they announced that they were adding Thursday to the lineup. And everybody who was working just let out the heaviest side. Oh my God. Why do you hate us in so many days? That's almost a whole week. Four is a lot. That's a work week. You're putting in more than a shift every time you go too. That's work. You're absolutely right.

I don't know. I mean, I wish I had the stamina for that. I really, truly do. But I am not made of that stuff anymore. The knees can't handle it. Two hours at Perry stage is enough for me. See, I wouldn't mind it. I actually think I could do it if the crowds weren't so big. You're talking like 100,000 people every day. Yeah. That's a lot. That's a lot of bodies. That's a lot of porta-potties. The thing is, though, You have to like, you have to figure out what kind of festival person. Like there's people who are hardcore will get there super early versus I'm more of like I like to cruise around. I like to be kind of maybe the side of the crowd, go in the back where you can easily walk away whenever you want. And so definitely like the younger crowd. is more of like they want to be in the mix. I still think Lala Ploos is such a cool place to walk around, enjoy live music outside. I love getting there early, even though I don't know if anyone that I know is going to be on and just kind of like perusing all the smaller stages. I always discover new music that way. And so that's something that I'm like, part of me kind of does want to go this year because I kind of miss that. But I don't think I'm going to commit to it because it is a lot. I mean, Joe, I can't imagine actually working because even though you go, even when you go for enjoyment, like you end. end up so tired back on the train trying to head home. Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's just geographically, you're asking a lot of people. It's a mile from end to end. Like you said, one of the best parts is hearing a band that you... It's clearly popular enough to get booked at Lollapalooza, but you've never heard them. But yeah, the four days open to close. Godspeed, young people. Good for you. I wish you the very best. And I think the difference in price is so stark too. Like, right? So this year, a one day general admission pass, $185, which to my 2026 brain actually sounds pretty reasonable. Those are still early bird prices. Like, so that's going to go up. as we get closer to the day. That's the cost of like a stadium concert now for DCC, 200 bucks. Like it's probably a lot you can pay for for nosebleeds, maybe $100. But if you want to be in the mix at a regular, like if you want to go to see a show at the United Center or Soldier Field, like that's around the same price you would pay for one act, right? But of course, it was news when Lollapalooza prices for a two-day festival hit 115 in 2005. So, yeah. Either way. Yeah. And, you know, this is, I'm hearing more and more, like you said, a pre-graduation present. People are getting their kids four-day Lollapalooza passes as a graduation president. And I think that's perfectly appropriate. Yeah. That is something to look forward to, I think. I do love it when you see like all the kids out. And like the kids on the train from the suburbs and they're just like making a fuss and covered in glitter. So much glitter. The glitter is everywhere. It is everywhere. I do just, what I really want for them is to be safe because these things can turn left very quickly if you aren't quick on your feet. If you're not hydrated, if you're not eating enough, if you don't wear sun protection, if you're not well rested. I don't love it when, you know, somebody clearly underage is.

clearly intoxicated and the sun is still out. I'm just like, this is not going to end well for you. Be safe out there. We're going to link to that day-to-day lineup. Of course, some of the headliners this year, Lord, the X, X, Charlie X, X are the ones I know. The Smashing Pumpkins? Smashing Pumpkins, yes. Freddie Gibbs and Smashing Pumpkins all at the same time, all Chicago and Northwest Indiana. That seems... Unfair. Just saying. It does. There is a, yeah, sometimes this happens with the lineup where I'm like, well, these are all people that I'd want to see and you've put them at the same time. But I understand why you can't put, you know, smashing pumpkins at noon. Like, I get it. But also I wouldn't mind. Like, I wouldn't mind, you know, a 1 p.m. Smashing Pumpkin Show. I think that'd be great. I don't think they'd mind either. I want to thank our guest today, CityCash, Chicago contributor, Jill Hopkins. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. And creative producer, Michelle Navarro. Thank you. Thank you.

And some good news before we let you go, or at least a story that feels kind of whimsical. Apparently an angler found an eel in the Chicago River. And at first I was like, oh, I don't know there were eels in the river. And it turns out there usually aren't. I guess there are reasons it's like hard for the eels to get to the river. But also it's really hard for researchers to actually track them. Check out the blog club story. They've got the pictures of the thing, of course, which are really cool. But my favorite quote is from a fish biologist who says, even in a city with 3 million people, we don't know everything that's going on in our rivers and lakes. And I think on the one hand, that is maybe a little bit terrifying. But I also think it's kind of beautiful. So that counts as good news for me. I'm going to drop a link to the story in the show notes. We're going to be back bright and early tomorrow. We'll talk to you then.