After an unsuccessful meeting with Governor Bruce Rauner last week, Chance the Rapper is taking matters into his own hands and leading the charge to rectify Chicago Public Schools' funding crisis. "Our talks were unsuccessful," Chance reiterated. "Governor Rauner still won’t commit to giving our kids a chance without caveats and ultimatums.”
During a press conference at Westcott Elementary School today, Chance announced that he's donating $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps fund programs and support every child in the CPS system. Speaking about his donation, Chance stated that he's providing this money to support "arts and enrichment programming" and also noted that the sizable donation was made possible through ticket sales to his upcoming tour.
"This check is a call to action. I’m challenging major companies and corporations in Chicago and all across the U.S. to donate and take action," Chance said, after handing a large facsimile of the check to a group of Westcott Elementary students. His push to raise funds for CPS isn't stopping here—Chance also announced that his non-profit organization Social Works Chicago (which runs his monthly Open Mike series at Harold Washington Library) will be collecting donations at www.socialworkschi.org/supportCPS. For every $100,000 raised through that channel, Chance will donate an additional $10,000 to a specific public high school or elementary school in the city.
"This isn’t about politics, this isn’t about posturing, it’s about taking care of the kids," Chance said, explaining why he chose to donate a million dollars to the school system in which he was educated. Several times throughout his remarks, he reminded those in attendance (and those watching via streams on social networks) that he's a rapper, not a politician. That distinction doesn't change the fact that Chance's donation has put Illinois's state budget and the plight of Chicago Public Schools into the national spotlight, putting additional pressure on politicians to find a more permanent solution. His gesture is also almost guaranteed to inspire similar monetary contributions.
Before he took questions from reporters, Chance had a message for a certain politician in Springfield: "Governor Rauner, do your job."
"Today I am proud to announce I am donating $1 million to CPS Foundation." Says @chancetherapper pic.twitter.com/fvpRBXYeWM
— The Daily Line (@thedailylinechi) March 6, 2017
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