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QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 01:06 PM) I scored 150 points and lost by 3 because I played Rashad Jennings (5 points) and Ben Tate (5 points). I had MJD (who I thought was gonna get like 8 touches), Richardson (who was bad) and Michael Bush (who i was gonna play until I saw Foster might be here). Ugh. What terrible decisions. I'm always my own worst enemy in fantasy.

Surely the recall election can put an end to all this yeah? They couldn't even deliver all of their members, and were terrible at delivering union households.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:30 PM) Gentrification can have negative impacts, too. Largely related to housing policy.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:23 PM) There are two sides to that, places like that where walking is impossible...and places where walking is dangerous. In either case, I can go to any big city and show you places that are the exact opposite of what he claimed. Driving: also very dangerous.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:18 PM) What neighborhoods do you live in? There are *some* neighborhoods that are livable/walkable...but there are still just as many that aren't. Again, you live in a false reality and need to take a look around. Either that, or get out more. I can take you to 500 Chicago neighborhoods and drop you off for a "walk" since they're so livable/walkable...but we'd never see you again. Try basing what you say on reality for a change. Spend a day in Oswego, or Oak Brook, and then tell me what's walkable. You have to drive from one store to the store across the street because you will be crossing an 8 lane street of insanity where cars aren't used to seeing pedestrians. You drive from one store to another in the same parking lot.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:15 PM) I recall the strike when I was in grammar school and they extended the school year...we were still in school at the end of June...it wasn't good. I remember doing/accomplishing nothing after the first week of June. It's impossible to gauge, however...but I think there is more truth to it than you want to believe. But to claim it's completely untrue? Based on what? At least I'm basing it on *something*, rather than just saying it. Kids do NOT want to be in school when the sun is shining and it's warm out. You simply said it's untrue, and opposite of reality? What reality? The fake on you try to live in? I'm going to just have to disagree with you...you've based your opinion on nothing. Edit: And getting out on time does not make the summer any shorter/longer. They get the same amount of days off. I think there's merit to this largely because of expectations. If your expectaiton is you go to school until mid-june, you wouldn't have been so adversely affected. But you expect to be out in June, so it was harder to concentrate.

Per kids losing these early days, it is pretty s***ty for college seniors who should be talking to their guidance counselors preparing. You can't make that up at the end of the year.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 02:37 PM) Here's a prediction, and something to consider... CPS student numbers have gone up more in recent years than the city population would seem to dictate, and one of the primary reasons for this is that parents who normally would have packed up the kids and moved to the burbs for better schools (or sent them to private schools), are unable to move (or afford private school) because of the economy and the housing market realities. Lower grade levels are being overwhelmed - this is part of the reason some of these kids have 35 people in their 1st grade classes. This is a pent up wave. Now, with the strike going on, regardless of who parents blame (probably should blame both sides), they are angry at the school system. More pent up desire to leave the system with their kids. So, when the economy finally does recover with a bit more flourish, sometime in the next few years... you will see a new wave of urban flight, as families with kids take their kids away from the schools and crime in the city. Probably won't be as profound as what happened in the 70's and 80's, but it will happen. On the one hand, that will help lower class sizes in the city schools at first, and allow a greater percentage of kids to go to magnets. On the other hand, the bottom drops out of the budget, as tax revenues decrease and per-head state and fed money drops as well. So the fiscal nightmare the schools system is already in, may not actually get better when the economy does. Just something to think about. I think your prediction flies in the face of every trend right now. There aren't more people in the city because people couldn't sell their house (if you can't sell your house, you can rent it to the booming rental market right now and pay your new mortgage.), there are more people in the city because more people are moving into the city. I think realistically you are going to add a nice tax base of younger people who will not be having kids or will move before they do, which will support those who do have kids in school. Once the economy recovers and even more move in, it should be fine, except we have a massive debt to the pensions which needs to get solved.

QUOTE (flippedoutpunk @ Sep 12, 2012 -> 03:12 AM) Is it possible for the city to just hire non-union teachers instead of having to deal with the CTU? It would be very difficult to replace 30,000 teachers who have not prepared for any sort of lesson plan into the classroom. Unless we are talking about a severely prolonged strike.

QUOTE (Baron @ Sep 11, 2012 -> 10:44 PM) You're the change we've been waiting for.

Has anyone else taken on how comparing things with median on one data and average on the next isn't really that misleading?

I'm just so relieved.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 11:00 PM) Taking student performance out of the equation they are still grossly overcompensated in my mind. I ma not talking just salary but the whole benefits package of teachers in the state of Illinois is bloated. It's really the pensions that kill everything. You can't grow the teacher force without further compounding an issue.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 11:08 PM) Anonymous isn't really a group. It's a meme referring to the anonymity granted to a user of the internet. Reading that makes me want to kill myself.

Kinda nervous about completely banged up Oline going up against arizona state this weekend. Really hate losing Fischer.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 10:25 PM) What conclusion should I be reaching? I didnt make the post, I just simply asked where it was going because I was interested. Since you seem to know the answer, why dont you enlighten me. A higher % of low-income classified kids is a higher batch of kids with quite a bit less resources. Worse nutrition, worse home conditions, less parental help on homework, parents who are there less to help develop their kids at an early age with reading, etc etc. They are typically further behind when they get to school, and fall further behind when they leave school. Go look at chicago magazines "top public high schools", it's no surprise that the ones they champion are those with 2-3% low-income. It's no different than colleges "improving" by changing their inputs rather than improving their teaching. Being from a low income area doesn't mean you are stupid, but it does often mean you need to play catch-up and need more attention. CPS teachers have and do a hell of a job. But they need to realize the city could be pushed to default, which will not only mean good-bye pensions, it means an awful lot of pain for the students they'd teach. This city is a city pretty stretched on taxes. There's not a lot more to go.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 10:12 PM) Where is that argument going? Poor people arent smart? Don't be dense.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 08:48 PM) To be perfectly fair to the teachers (of whom I know plenty, I'm a product of the CPS system), the top complaint isn't their salaries, rather it is class sizes and overall working conditions/environments for the students. I know they love this talking point, but the majority of the money going to the schools is ending up in their hands. If they brought a budget to the CPS taht said "okay, we won't take a raise as long as you promise to decrease class sizes and add desks" you don't think CPS would be all over that?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 10, 2012 -> 06:39 PM) I find it disheartening that the typical response to one group of workers having comparatively better wages, benefits, employment protections and bargaining power is for other groups of workers to tear them down, to decry them for not suffering like the rest of us. Well, they can largely look inward for why that happened.

God damn it. Dunn's diagnosis sounds just like what he said after his appendicitis.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Sep 9, 2012 -> 10:25 PM) Come on you White Sox show a fight, win this game! It's been done before. Show fight? It's september! They'll just act tired and slowly drift away.

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ Sep 9, 2012 -> 09:19 PM) And the wheels come off It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Same s***, different year.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Sep 9, 2012 -> 04:21 PM) Stevie Johnson or Shonne Greene in a PPR? Stevie isnt 100% and will be on Revis island. No to Johnson. Ba hammy isn't a good injury for a receiver

well that sucked.

Occasionally I remember whose on the bulls next year and start to tear up.