Better than Monday Night Football: del Valle on HDO and School Vouchers
Jeff Berkowitz: So, they [two of your kids] had a choice [of private or public schools]. They had a choice because you thought it would be better for them. And, they went out--
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s right. That’s right.
Jeff Berkowitz: Wouldn’t you want to give other people who couldn’t afford that choice the ability to take the money we’re currently spending on them and spend it where they want. Your daughter, you’ve told me—and you should be a proud dad—is now at Yale. One of your kids, your youngest daughter.
*****************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: So you were at odds with the HDO. Have you since joined? Do you find yourself working with HDO some of the time?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I have relationships with—even during that time, I had relationships with individuals who were members of HDO, who grew up with me, who grew up in the neighborhood that I grew up in. Individuals who knew of my work and who supported me, even though, as a group, they were taking political positions that were different from mine...
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Chicago City Clerk Designate and State Senator Miguel del Valle [D-Chicago] is the featured guest on tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs, airing at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. Go here for [1] a link to watch podcasts of State Sen. and City of Chicago Clerk Designate Miguel del Valle, Senator McCain, Senator Obama, Cong. Schakowsky, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown, Cook County Commissioners Claypool and Peraica and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, Ald. Joe Moore and many other pols and [2] to learn more about tonight’s show with Sen. del Valle and to read a partial transcript of the show.
************************************
Sen. Miguel del Valle has been nominated by City of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to replace City Clerk Jim Laski, who resigned his office and then pled guilty to federal corruption charges earlier this year. Del Valle has been confirmed and will take office on Dec. 1, the day after the legislative Veto session [essentially] concludes in Springfield.
Senator del Valle, for whom the Mayor's crack political team and others are circulating petitions to get him on the Feb. 27, 2007 ballot to win election to the City Clerk position in his own right, will be running on a ticket with Mayor Daley and his recently appointed City Treasurer Stephanie Neely. Sen. del Valle needs 12,000 good signatures to get on the ballot for the City Clerk position, so they will seek to collect about 24,000. Mayor Daley sought del Valle, in part for racial reasons, to round out his rainbow [White, Black, Hispanic] ticket when Daley thought he might face opposition from African-American Cong. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Hispanic Cong. Luis Gutierrez. Democrats Jackson and Gutierrez have both now declined to run for Mayor, in part because of their new Majority Party status in Washington.
Daley is now left with two long shot challengers: African Americans Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County [Our guest next week in the suburbs and in the City] and Bill [Doc] Walls [A prior guest of Public Affairs]. The Dorothy Brown show is also available now on our podcast page [See here].
Sen. del Valle brings a reputation for independence and honesty [Mr. Clean, so to speak] to the Daley ticket, so we asked him a bit about his independence from HDO and Daley [see partial transcript, below]. Daley also said Sen. del Valle would be his informal advisor on education, as that has been a focus of the Senator's for two decades in the State Legislature. So, we spent some time on tax swaps and school vouchers-school choice, see partial transcript, below.
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Sen. Miguel del Valle, the Mayor and HDO: How independent are they?
Jeff Berkowitz: You were inspired, in part, by Harold Washington, as an Independent, and Harold Washington was first elected [Mayor of Chicago] in 1983.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Inspired by the independent politics of that movement at the time.
Jeff Berkowitz: Were you part of that Harold Washington movement?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: Of course, Harold Washington was re-elected [Mayor] in 1987. You were elected to the Senate in 1986 and took office in 1987. But, you continued to challenge, until just a few years ago-- challenging Daley candidates or at least supporting candidates who were running against Daley incumbents in the City Council, right?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Well, in the political arena, locally, we had lots of challenges, but--
Jeff Berkowitz: You supported Rey Colon?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s correct, but, I want to go back further [del Valle talks about bills that he worked on, closely, with State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley’s office and the State’s attorney when del Valle was first elected to the Senate]
Jeff Berkowitz: But, you can turn around and subsequently, years later, you were supporting aldermanic candidates who were challenging Daley supported incumbents, right?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I did.
Jeff Berkowitz: Rey Colon was one.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Not only individuals that Daley supported, but also individuals supported by other local alderman.
Jeff Berkowitz: By the Democratic establishment?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Who were part of the Regular Democratic Organization.
Jeff Berkowitz: But also supported by the HDO, sometimes known as the Hispanic Democratic Organization-
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s right.
Jeff Berkowitz: But also sometimes known as the Hispanic Daley Organization. Would that be fair?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: We would at times be at opposite sides, yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: But would it be fair to call the HDO the Hispanic Daley Organization?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: HDO is a group of Hispanics who work for the city.
Jeff Berkowitz: Were they controlled by Mayor Daley?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Who run campaigns and get involved in campaigns and have been involved in many campaigns over the years and have been very supportive of not only Mayor Daley, but other local politicians as well.
Jeff Berkowitz: But have they [HDO] been controlled by Mayor Daley?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: HDO is controlled by the leadership within HDO. They have supported other candidates. They have supported the Mayor, of course; They have supported candidates for Congress. They have supported candidates for Governor and for other offices.
Jeff Berkowitz: Did they support Ald. Vilma Colom?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: At that time? Yes, I think they did.
Jeff Berkowitz: You supported Rey Colon?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes, I did.
Jeff Berkowitz: He beat her?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Rey Colon won.
Jeff Berkowitz: You supported Manny Flores?
Sen. Miguel del Valle [D-Chicago]: That’s correct.
Jeff Berkowitz: HDO supported Ald. Jesse Grenato?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s correct.
Jeff Berkowitz: Manny Flores won?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes, he did.
Jeff Berkowitz: So you were at odds with the HDO. Have you since joined? Do you find yourself working with HDO some of the time?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I have relationships with—even during that time, I had relationships with individuals who were members of HDO, who grew up with me, who grew up in the neighborhood that I grew up in. Individuals who knew of my work and who supported me, even though, as a group, they were taking political positions that were different from mine. [Ed. Note: Although Sen. del Valle seems to be minimizing his historical differences with HDO, some suggest that congruence of interests is a more recent phenomenon, See here; for more about a current connection between del Valle and HDO’s Chairman, Victor Reyes, see here].
**************************************************
From tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs with Chicago City Clerk Designate and State Sen. Miguel del Valle. The show airs throughout the City at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. You may also watch it by [Going here]. The show with Sen. del Valle was recorded on Nov. 19, 2006.
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Sen. del Valle likes options and competition among schools, but does he like school vouchers- school choice?
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Jeff Berkowitz: What about competition? Would that be good? In the schools? Schools competing with each other for students?
Sen. Miguel del Valle [D-Chicago]: Oh, I think we have that now.
Jeff Berkowitz: We have that now? No, it’s a monopoly.
Miguel del Valle No, as a matter of fact, I think that--
Jeff Berkowitz: You have to move [from one location to another] to go to another school.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: We’re well on our way towards creating competition. We’re doing it with charter schools, Renaissance 2010, in the city of Chicago, where kids today have more and more choices in terms of where to go for their elementary and secondary education. And so we’ve got quite a bit of competition. We have more competition today than ever before.
Jeff Berkowitz: ...Here’s that cash again. You know we spend about eleven thousand dollars per kid, per year, in the Chicago Public Schools. Put that eleven thousand dollars in a backpack. You’ve got a lot of constituents in your area. Across the city of Chicago, we can have four hundred thirty five thousand backpacks. Give it to the parents of each of those kids in the public schools. Strap it on the kid. If the parents are satisfied with the public schools—and many are—they stay. The kid turns around and goes right back to that public school. The kid stays there, the backpack stays there and the cash stays at the public school. But if they want to try a private school, if they want to try an alternative that they think can do better—out goes the backpack, out goes the kid, out goes the eleven thousand dollars per kid per year. And we get to see whether someone else can do better [in terms of teaching the students]. You’d like to give people that competition? That choice? Would you take those backpacks? Would you like to do that? Would you support that?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: We are in the process of giving people more choices.
Jeff Berkowitz: School Vouchers? Would you support school vouchers?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: No. I don’t support school vouchers.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t support giving them that choice?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I support choices. And, I think that what we need to do is to continue to improve the public educational system.
Jeff Berkowitz: Why not give them the choice?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: In my district, I have several buildings that were operated by the archdiocese that today are used by charter schools. We have fewer parochial schools in my district today, but those buildings are now being used, and in some cases purchased, by charter schools that are offering wonderful programs. So I think we’re creating more choices for these parents.
Jeff Berkowitz: Where did your own kids go? Did your own kids go to public schools?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: My kids went to grammar schools, public grammar schools, yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: What about high school? Did your kids go to public schools for high school, too?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Two went to private schools, high schools.
Jeff Berkowitz: So, they [two of your kids] had a choice [of private or public schools]. They had a choice because you thought it would be better for them. And, they went out--
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s right. That’s right.
Jeff Berkowitz: Wouldn’t you want to give other people who couldn’t afford that choice the ability to take the money we’re currently spending on them and spend it where they want. Your daughter, you’ve told me—and you should be a proud dad—is now at Yale. One of your kids, your youngest daughter.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s a private school. There’s competition between public universities and private universities. They both do better as a result. Why not do that? Why not support that school voucher/school choice program?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Well, I know you’re a strong proponent of vouchers. And, that’s been one of your—your crusade for a long time. But, I think that we are creating more choices and I think that we need to focus on making the public system [of schools] stronger. Stronger.
Jeff Berkowitz: So you buy in to charter schools, but not school vouchers?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I’m looking for options, creating as many options for parents and children as possible. Quality options.
Jeff Berkowitz: So maybe school vouchers. Maybe you should think about school vouchers?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: No, not vouchers. Options.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s an option. That’s an option.
**************************************************************
From tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs with Chicago City Clerk Designate and State Sen. Miguel del Valle. The show airs throughout the City at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. You may also watch it by [Going here]. The show with Sen. del Valle was recorded on Nov. 19, 2006.
*****************************************
Above transcript drafts prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
***************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
******************
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s right. That’s right.
Jeff Berkowitz: Wouldn’t you want to give other people who couldn’t afford that choice the ability to take the money we’re currently spending on them and spend it where they want. Your daughter, you’ve told me—and you should be a proud dad—is now at Yale. One of your kids, your youngest daughter.
*****************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: So you were at odds with the HDO. Have you since joined? Do you find yourself working with HDO some of the time?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I have relationships with—even during that time, I had relationships with individuals who were members of HDO, who grew up with me, who grew up in the neighborhood that I grew up in. Individuals who knew of my work and who supported me, even though, as a group, they were taking political positions that were different from mine...
******************************
Chicago City Clerk Designate and State Senator Miguel del Valle [D-Chicago] is the featured guest on tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs, airing at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. Go here for [1] a link to watch podcasts of State Sen. and City of Chicago Clerk Designate Miguel del Valle, Senator McCain, Senator Obama, Cong. Schakowsky, Chicago Mayoral Candidate Dorothy Brown, Cook County Commissioners Claypool and Peraica and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, Ald. Joe Moore and many other pols and [2] to learn more about tonight’s show with Sen. del Valle and to read a partial transcript of the show.
************************************
Sen. Miguel del Valle has been nominated by City of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to replace City Clerk Jim Laski, who resigned his office and then pled guilty to federal corruption charges earlier this year. Del Valle has been confirmed and will take office on Dec. 1, the day after the legislative Veto session [essentially] concludes in Springfield.
Senator del Valle, for whom the Mayor's crack political team and others are circulating petitions to get him on the Feb. 27, 2007 ballot to win election to the City Clerk position in his own right, will be running on a ticket with Mayor Daley and his recently appointed City Treasurer Stephanie Neely. Sen. del Valle needs 12,000 good signatures to get on the ballot for the City Clerk position, so they will seek to collect about 24,000. Mayor Daley sought del Valle, in part for racial reasons, to round out his rainbow [White, Black, Hispanic] ticket when Daley thought he might face opposition from African-American Cong. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Hispanic Cong. Luis Gutierrez. Democrats Jackson and Gutierrez have both now declined to run for Mayor, in part because of their new Majority Party status in Washington.
Daley is now left with two long shot challengers: African Americans Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County [Our guest next week in the suburbs and in the City] and Bill [Doc] Walls [A prior guest of Public Affairs]. The Dorothy Brown show is also available now on our podcast page [See here].
Sen. del Valle brings a reputation for independence and honesty [Mr. Clean, so to speak] to the Daley ticket, so we asked him a bit about his independence from HDO and Daley [see partial transcript, below]. Daley also said Sen. del Valle would be his informal advisor on education, as that has been a focus of the Senator's for two decades in the State Legislature. So, we spent some time on tax swaps and school vouchers-school choice, see partial transcript, below.
*****************************************************
Sen. Miguel del Valle, the Mayor and HDO: How independent are they?
Jeff Berkowitz: You were inspired, in part, by Harold Washington, as an Independent, and Harold Washington was first elected [Mayor of Chicago] in 1983.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Inspired by the independent politics of that movement at the time.
Jeff Berkowitz: Were you part of that Harold Washington movement?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: Of course, Harold Washington was re-elected [Mayor] in 1987. You were elected to the Senate in 1986 and took office in 1987. But, you continued to challenge, until just a few years ago-- challenging Daley candidates or at least supporting candidates who were running against Daley incumbents in the City Council, right?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Well, in the political arena, locally, we had lots of challenges, but--
Jeff Berkowitz: You supported Rey Colon?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s correct, but, I want to go back further [del Valle talks about bills that he worked on, closely, with State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley’s office and the State’s attorney when del Valle was first elected to the Senate]
Jeff Berkowitz: But, you can turn around and subsequently, years later, you were supporting aldermanic candidates who were challenging Daley supported incumbents, right?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I did.
Jeff Berkowitz: Rey Colon was one.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Not only individuals that Daley supported, but also individuals supported by other local alderman.
Jeff Berkowitz: By the Democratic establishment?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Who were part of the Regular Democratic Organization.
Jeff Berkowitz: But also supported by the HDO, sometimes known as the Hispanic Democratic Organization-
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s right.
Jeff Berkowitz: But also sometimes known as the Hispanic Daley Organization. Would that be fair?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: We would at times be at opposite sides, yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: But would it be fair to call the HDO the Hispanic Daley Organization?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: HDO is a group of Hispanics who work for the city.
Jeff Berkowitz: Were they controlled by Mayor Daley?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Who run campaigns and get involved in campaigns and have been involved in many campaigns over the years and have been very supportive of not only Mayor Daley, but other local politicians as well.
Jeff Berkowitz: But have they [HDO] been controlled by Mayor Daley?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: HDO is controlled by the leadership within HDO. They have supported other candidates. They have supported the Mayor, of course; They have supported candidates for Congress. They have supported candidates for Governor and for other offices.
Jeff Berkowitz: Did they support Ald. Vilma Colom?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: At that time? Yes, I think they did.
Jeff Berkowitz: You supported Rey Colon?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes, I did.
Jeff Berkowitz: He beat her?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Rey Colon won.
Jeff Berkowitz: You supported Manny Flores?
Sen. Miguel del Valle [D-Chicago]: That’s correct.
Jeff Berkowitz: HDO supported Ald. Jesse Grenato?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s correct.
Jeff Berkowitz: Manny Flores won?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes, he did.
Jeff Berkowitz: So you were at odds with the HDO. Have you since joined? Do you find yourself working with HDO some of the time?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I have relationships with—even during that time, I had relationships with individuals who were members of HDO, who grew up with me, who grew up in the neighborhood that I grew up in. Individuals who knew of my work and who supported me, even though, as a group, they were taking political positions that were different from mine. [Ed. Note: Although Sen. del Valle seems to be minimizing his historical differences with HDO, some suggest that congruence of interests is a more recent phenomenon, See here; for more about a current connection between del Valle and HDO’s Chairman, Victor Reyes, see here].
**************************************************
From tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs with Chicago City Clerk Designate and State Sen. Miguel del Valle. The show airs throughout the City at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. You may also watch it by [Going here]. The show with Sen. del Valle was recorded on Nov. 19, 2006.
**************************************************************
Sen. del Valle likes options and competition among schools, but does he like school vouchers- school choice?
***********************************
Jeff Berkowitz: What about competition? Would that be good? In the schools? Schools competing with each other for students?
Sen. Miguel del Valle [D-Chicago]: Oh, I think we have that now.
Jeff Berkowitz: We have that now? No, it’s a monopoly.
Miguel del Valle No, as a matter of fact, I think that--
Jeff Berkowitz: You have to move [from one location to another] to go to another school.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: We’re well on our way towards creating competition. We’re doing it with charter schools, Renaissance 2010, in the city of Chicago, where kids today have more and more choices in terms of where to go for their elementary and secondary education. And so we’ve got quite a bit of competition. We have more competition today than ever before.
Jeff Berkowitz: ...Here’s that cash again. You know we spend about eleven thousand dollars per kid, per year, in the Chicago Public Schools. Put that eleven thousand dollars in a backpack. You’ve got a lot of constituents in your area. Across the city of Chicago, we can have four hundred thirty five thousand backpacks. Give it to the parents of each of those kids in the public schools. Strap it on the kid. If the parents are satisfied with the public schools—and many are—they stay. The kid turns around and goes right back to that public school. The kid stays there, the backpack stays there and the cash stays at the public school. But if they want to try a private school, if they want to try an alternative that they think can do better—out goes the backpack, out goes the kid, out goes the eleven thousand dollars per kid per year. And we get to see whether someone else can do better [in terms of teaching the students]. You’d like to give people that competition? That choice? Would you take those backpacks? Would you like to do that? Would you support that?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: We are in the process of giving people more choices.
Jeff Berkowitz: School Vouchers? Would you support school vouchers?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: No. I don’t support school vouchers.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t support giving them that choice?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I support choices. And, I think that what we need to do is to continue to improve the public educational system.
Jeff Berkowitz: Why not give them the choice?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: In my district, I have several buildings that were operated by the archdiocese that today are used by charter schools. We have fewer parochial schools in my district today, but those buildings are now being used, and in some cases purchased, by charter schools that are offering wonderful programs. So I think we’re creating more choices for these parents.
Jeff Berkowitz: Where did your own kids go? Did your own kids go to public schools?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: My kids went to grammar schools, public grammar schools, yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: What about high school? Did your kids go to public schools for high school, too?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Two went to private schools, high schools.
Jeff Berkowitz: So, they [two of your kids] had a choice [of private or public schools]. They had a choice because you thought it would be better for them. And, they went out--
Sen. Miguel del Valle: That’s right. That’s right.
Jeff Berkowitz: Wouldn’t you want to give other people who couldn’t afford that choice the ability to take the money we’re currently spending on them and spend it where they want. Your daughter, you’ve told me—and you should be a proud dad—is now at Yale. One of your kids, your youngest daughter.
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Yes.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s a private school. There’s competition between public universities and private universities. They both do better as a result. Why not do that? Why not support that school voucher/school choice program?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: Well, I know you’re a strong proponent of vouchers. And, that’s been one of your—your crusade for a long time. But, I think that we are creating more choices and I think that we need to focus on making the public system [of schools] stronger. Stronger.
Jeff Berkowitz: So you buy in to charter schools, but not school vouchers?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: I’m looking for options, creating as many options for parents and children as possible. Quality options.
Jeff Berkowitz: So maybe school vouchers. Maybe you should think about school vouchers?
Sen. Miguel del Valle: No, not vouchers. Options.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s an option. That’s an option.
**************************************************************
From tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs with Chicago City Clerk Designate and State Sen. Miguel del Valle. The show airs throughout the City at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV]. You may also watch it by [Going here]. The show with Sen. del Valle was recorded on Nov. 19, 2006.
*****************************************
Above transcript drafts prepared by Amy Allen, who also does research for “Public Affairs,” and has her own political blog [See here].
***************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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