Arlene Jones after Blair Holt's murder

Arelene Jones writing in her blog after Blair Holt's murder,

Since his murder, I've been seeing many of the usual suspects. The mayor harps on gun control-but not on unemployment issues, inflation, misuse of monies by the public schools for security, lack of after-school activities as well as poor funding for the park district-as the main factor. To him, it's just gun control.

and...

As we look at the black community, where are the jobs for our teenagers? Had there been after-school activities, would Blair still have ended up dead? The city constantly cries broke while having money for Olympics bids, for Looptopia and for every whim the mayor fancies. That's how the mayor can give Loyola, a private institution, up to $46 million in TIF funds even though it doesn't pay taxes. We can have, as the Chicago Reader pointed out last week, young black kids who are hurdlers practicing in the hallways at Lane Tech because we don't have a single indoor fieldhouse for any of the public schools. Worst, the city is getting ready to give Ziegler Financial, a $3.2 billion investment company, $2.7 million to consolidate its offices in downtown Chicago.

The murder of 31 kids is a little bigger than gun shop owners.

On a closely related note from Austin Weekly News, where Jones is a columnist, this on thoughts of stripping Local School Councils of their ability to select principles,

As to whether the LSC will lose its principal selection duties, the debate continues.

Rice said there are rumors in Springfield, but he has no knowledge of any proposals being submitted. "I haven't seen any specific legislation," he said.

Chicago Public Schools spokesman Mike Vaughn said, "We're still talking about what that campaign would entail and when we'd start talking to state legislators about it."