CHICAGO | Politics and Current Events

[moorhosj1]

Another note on Vallas' time at CPS and the potential long-term impacts.

During Vallas’ six years with the district, and for several years following his tenure, CPS paid next to nothing toward teacher pension costs. The Vallas era at CPS coincided with the dot.com bubble that sent markets soaring, helping the pension fund stay healthy even without the annual injections of cash it began missing out on.

We asked Vallas in a phone interview why he opted to stop pension payments. "The system was earning such strong returns, it didn’t require that we make contributions during those few years," he explained.