Who’s watching, and who made these decisions?  Those are the questions that leap to mind.  The wicked relationship of bad people with their hands on an endless pot of imaginary money, operating under the guise of “education” is in full bloom with Chicago State University (CSU).  What a dangerous situation.  No surprise here, Democrats are in control, abetted by the Department of Education.

A litany of facts regarding the operation of Chicago State;  (source, Lake County Gazette, week of August 15 – 21, 2016)

*Four-year graduation rate of 11%

*In graduating just 11% of its 3462 students, CSU is spending more than $2.5 million per year per graduate

*Highest administrative cost of $3600 per student (80% higher than other IL colleges and universities)

*In 2011, the auditor general reported that CSU had roughly one administrator per faculty member

*There are 358 full time academic positions at CSU with the lowest compensation of $74,000 per year and the highest $273,000

*Illinois public universities spend more each year on pensions than they receive in state funding

*In 2015 CSU’s revenues were $162.6 million, $96 million from Illinois taxpayers and the remainder from the federal government in the form of direct grants and tuition assistance.

*The auditor general reported that the school owes at least $356.5 million in debt, $342 million of which is CSU’s share of the $22 billion it owes to Illinois’ State University Retirement System.

*In 2015 an audit found that CSU spent $111 million on “compensation and benefits” including $67 million on salaries, $18 million on employee insurance, and $26 million on pension contributions

*In 2015, CSU had 357 full time faculty who earned an average of $135,341 in total compensation

*The U. S. Department of Education reports that CSU undergraduate students received an average of $16,428 in aid last year - $6,784 in grants and scholarships, and $9,644 in federal student loans

An endless stream of money that never existed, mounting obligations, and an example of throwing money at “education” when in fact it is throwing money at something else entirely.  Fraud and theft, shrouded in unaccountability and sponsored by federal grants, student loans (which will likely be unpaid), and decision making by local authorities who seem faceless and nameless are all ingredients for this ruse of “advancing education”.

I wonder what Dick Durbin, the champion of the teachers union and the opponent of vouchers and charters, has to say about his own backyard.  Maybe he can smell it.