School privateers set up new $10 million "venture fund" for Chicago schools

Rauner

Here we go again. The Chicago Civic Committee and billionaire Bruce Rauner are pushing a  "venture philanthropy fund" for public school "innovation."  Even though the new fund is supposedly modeled on the Gates Fund, this new collection of school privateers and union busters can buy their way in for a meager $10 million investment. Rahm, of course, will roll out the red carpet.


According to Greg Hinz at Crain's,   

Mr. Rauner, who also chairs the education panel of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, has been talking for years about attracting venture capital to the city school system. In an email exchange this morning, he said he's still interested in finding money to buy underused school buildings and make them available to startup charters, and he congratulated the new group. "We can use all the talent, relationships and fundraising ability that we can get," he said.