Major blue cities are becoming increasingly unmanageable.
Democrat leaders continue to double down on the same policies.
And a crime-ridden Democrat stronghold just got worse after one shocking decision.
Thanks to decades of pro-crime policies, Chicago has become synonymous with lawlessness in pockets of the city.
Even shopping districts have been plagued with “flash mob” robberies.
Yet in this environment, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) felt that now was the time to remove school resources officers (SROs) from schools.
Fewer cops, more social workers
Instead of cops to help tamp down violence, CPS is moving toward more restorative justice programs.
The Chicago Board of Education wrote in a statement, “To truly achieve our goal of whole school safety, we must look beyond a narrow set of physical safety protocols and include emotional support for all children and trusting relationships between CPS students and adults.
If approved, the Whole School Safety Policy would go into effect for the 2024-25 school year.
The board added, “We want to be clear that many schools will still employ physical safety personnel like security guards at points of entry, and crossing guards and Safe Passage workers to ensure students can get to and from school safely…Some schools will also continue to use physical security tools such as security cameras or metal detectors. Furthermore, each school will still maintain a relationship with their local Chicago Police Department ‘School Sergeant,’ a position assigned to each police district to provide safety support to schools.”
Out of 91 CPS high schools, 39 have SROs, so all of those positions would go away.
Buzzwords like “restorative justice,” “restorative discipline,” and “de-escalation strategies” have become common among leftist reformers.
However, the policies have not been particularly effective when implemented.
Meanwhile, CPS has produced dismal results in terms of education.
Failing schools
The latest Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) 2023 Report Card showed that 67 Illinois schools had zero students who were proficient in math, and 32 schools had zero students who were proficient in reading.
The number of students who are illiterate is staggering.
Illinois research firm Wirepoints reported that “officials in those schools graduated nearly 70% of their students. More than 12,000 students attend Illinois’ zero-proficiency schools. Every single one of those children will struggle in life because they lack basic reading and math skills.”
But CPS officials believe that more restorative discipline programs will solve the problems plaguing public schools.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
