Rahm Emanuel - Why do all that and then answer the question?

Ironically this story about Mayor Emanuel when Mary Ann Ahern at NBC Chicago decided to query him during the course of an interview about where he plans to send his children to school made it to Instapundit this morning. This is what happened after he attempted to cut of the interview, Ahern made the point that the Mayor could send a message about how confident he was in the public schools to educate his children:

Then, the Mayor of Chicago positioned himself inches from my face and pointed his finger directly at my head. He raised his voice and admonished me. How dare I ask where his children would go to school!

"You've done this before," he said.

This was the Emanuel we had heard about, and it was one of the oddest moments in my 29 years of reporting.

Glenn Reynolds says:

And your kids’ schooling is his business, but his kids’ schooling isn’t any of your business. These people always seem to think that way.

Sense of entitlement is the point, right?


Anyway from the NBC Chicago Ward Room blog we finally got an answer to the question of where the Mayor will send his school aged children:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel Wednesday told CBS that he would send his three children to the University of Chicago Lab School in Hyde Park and not to a Chicago Public School.

It's the same private school that President Barack Obama's children attended when he was an Illinois Senator.

Because he decided to keep his children out of Chicago Public Schools, Emanuel said that voters will have to make a judgment about his choice.

Emanuel revealed his choice of school less than 24-hours after admonishing an NBC reporter for asking the exact same question.

Even the local teacher's union chimed in on his choice:

In a prepared statement, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis was careful not to criticize Emanuel’s decision to send his kids to one of the city’s most elite private schools.

But Lewis said the mayor’s choice for his own children speaks volumes.

“The new mayor seems to recognize how school funding impacts school quality,’’ Lewis said.

“We understand why he would choose a school with small class sizes, a broad, rich curriculum that offers world languages, the arts and physical education, a focus on critical thinking not test-taking, a teacher and an assistant in every elementary classroom and paid, high-quality professional development for their teachers. It’s wonderful that he has that option available to him.’’

To be honest, I don't really care about where he sends his children to school. In fact I don't have children yet, but this is one issue to consider. Would I send them to a private school or a public school? Right now I know I can't afford private school and that's OK because there are some good public schools out there.

Ahern's question is appropriate only because the Mayor also has direct control of the Chicago Public Schools. He appoints the superintendent and the school board. One could interpret this as well, he may not have much confidence in the schools magnet/selective enrollment or otherwise.