The Obama administration’s Race to the Top competition drew fire this month from an unexpected source: Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. The longtime Democratic mayor—who had picked Arne Duncan, now the U.S. secretary of education, to lead his city’s school system—said “we should end it,” when speaking about the $4 billion grant competition. He was apparently unhappy that Illinois was not one of the 12 winners. “That’s all it’s about: bureaucracy,” he said.
A version of this article appeared in the September 29, 2010 edition of Education Week as Chicago Mayor Calls for Ending Race to Top
