(Chicago) Education politics

So ever since I started to (a) live in the city of Chicago and (b) take first steps towards a likely career in public ed. a few months ago, I've been trying to understand the local politics of education. And how education figures into national politics, particularly as it is changing with Obama at the helm. It is a turbulent water to navigate, I'm learning. Some of my posts on this blog may try to catalogue what I learn from different sources and try to make sense of it all.

Some of my knowledge on the topic comes from SAIC classroom discussions, attending panels/talks (e.g. "Policy Priorities for the New President" at UIC and J. Kozol speaking about "Savage [racial] Inequalities" in public ed., newspaper articles, and the buzz from teachers' groups like TSJ (Teachers for Social Justice) and CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators)...
I understand things in this way: a large number of schools are "failing" (both nationally and in Chicago) to deliver the kind of education that allows students to contribute in a meaningful, "productive" way to society upon graduation. People do not seem to disagree on this point. Fractures become apparent, though, during discussions about what should be done to fix it. There seems to be a strong "privatization" current of thinking, a more corporate model of education favoring parental choice, application processes, vouchers, and commuting to the best school...which becomes more often a charter, magnet, or even private school. This model stands in opposition to a more traditional "neighborhood school" model where children of all abilities, interests, and parental involvement level are mixed and local school councils have a large responsibility in making important decisions for the school community. These clashing viewpoints are at the center of the Renaissance 2010 controversey. Here are some articles which I've come across lately which talk about some of these issues:

-Education Week magazine talks about the pros and cons of A. Duncan as Secretary of Education based on his work in CPS:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/13/18duncan.h28.html?tmp=1376262034
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/12/18kumashiro-com.h28.html?tmp=282759741

-This is about the protest that took place this past Wednesday at the Board of Education protesting the recent "list" of school closings:
http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago_news/Teachers_demand_turnaround_moratorium,20128

-And lastly, an article about what Obama's economic plan promises for education:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/education/28educ.html?_r=1