Mayor Chico? No thanks.

Gery Chico got the endorsement of his former CPS governing partner Paul Vallas in his run for Mayor.

That’s good enough for me. He’ll never get my vote.

From 1995 and for four years Vallas and Chico were the Abbott and Costello of Chicago’s schools, but not nearly as funny.

They were the incubators of the voucher, school closing, fire teacher policies that were later expanded by Arne Duncan.

Progress Illinois is reporting that Chico explained that his plan for CPS is more of the same old, same old: charters, charters, charters and vouchers.

Charter expansion is one area in Chico’s plan likely to generate friction with Chicago Teachers Union, whose president has said she’ll oppose further charters. Chico’s support for school vouchers, something he didn’t talk about yesterday, is another potential faultline. “As Mayor of Chicago, Gery Chico will support a voucher initiative that will allow parents of students in chronically failing schools to receive a $3,717 voucher toward elementary school tuition, and a $7,500 voucher toward high-school children which can be used in private and parochial schools,” his education platform states.

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