ILL-inois: Quinn picks so-called schools turnaround expert Vallas as running mate

When Paul Vallas was running Chicago Public School from 1995 to 2001, he was hailed as the man who turned around the city's failed schools.

Earlier today Illinois' hapless governor, Chicago Democrat Pat Quinn, named Vallas as his 2014 running mate.

Oddly enough, the last time I checked, Chicago's schools are still abysmal. For instance, 79 percent of its eighth graders aren't proficient at reading. Last year Mayor Rahm Emanuel boasted of  "a record graduation rate--60 percent" in CPS high schools.

Success?

Vallas reorganized CPS headquarters, fired some principals, closed some schools, and opened some charter schools. Have you ever had a boss who was full of activity--who looked successful--but at the end of the day had little to show for it?

That's Paul Vallas.

During his tenures in Philadelphia and in New Orleans--he "achieved" the same lackluster results. The best that I guess can be said of Vallas' reigns is that he prevented his schools from getting worse.

Vallas has been fighting to keep his latest job--superintendent of schools in Bridgeport, Connecticut--in a bizarre certification dispute.

However, I think Vallas is the perfect running mate for Quinn, who bragged 568 days ago that he was "put on earth" to rescue Illinois' $100-billion-in-the-hole public pension system. Since then, Quinn has talked a lot about the pensions, formed a blue-ribbon committee to solve the crisis, and he even suspended the pay of members of the General Assembly to get the job done.

But nothing has been fixed.

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