Loss of Faith in City Government
By the late 1980s, many Chicagoans had lost faith in their city government. They doubted its ability to maintain infrastructure, provide essential services, and ensure equitable access to education and housing.
The city schools had a poor reputation nationally.
--Arne Duncan, CEO of Chicago Public Schools (2001-2008).[United States Secretary of Education] William Bennett had called Chicago the worst public school system in the nation. Whether that was accurate or not, I don't know. But it wasn't a system that the city could be proud of.
Tim Samuelson of the Chicago Cultural Center (2002 - present) comments on the city's infrastructure at the time:
The city's public housing also faced a number of problems during the 1980s and into the 1990s after Daley took office.
Julia Stasch, housing commissioner under Mayor Daley (1997-1999), explains: