How odd is Rauner’s school behavior?

When it comes to parents trying to get their children into better quality (or, in some cases, less violent) schools, I have heard of a lot of extreme actions.

RAUNER; Are his challengers the 3 stooges?

There are those parents who made a point of moving into communities that they really couldn’t afford to fully be a part of, just so their children could claim a legal residence in a school district of some quality.

THERE ARE OTHERS I have heard of throughout the years who go out of their way to partake in lengthy commutes so they can get to a better-funded school than one that would be more readily accessible.

And, let’s be honest. There are those individuals who claim a false address in order to be able to attend classes in a district with schools more serious than the ones they’re “supposed” to attend.

So to learn that Bruce Rauner, in the days before he became a gubernatorial candidate, used his wealth and the influence it brings to get his daughter into a better-quality high school in Chicago?

What else is new? A part of me wonders how many other parents would have done the exact same thing, if only they had the kind of personal funds he did.

FOR THE RECORD, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Rauner had a daughter he wanted to attend Walter Payton College Prep, a fairly new high school on Chicago’s Near North Side (meaning it isn’t burdened with the results of decades of underfunding and urban neglect).

There is a complicated admissions process for students wishing to get in, and Rauner’s daughter initially was rejected. So Rauner used the fact that his wealth gave him connections to prominent people to meet with then-Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan (now the federal Education secretary) to see what could be done to reconsider her case.

A year-and-a-half later, Rauner happened to make a $250,000 donation to a foundation connected to Payton Prep.

Now I haven’t heard anything indicating the direct connection between “reconsideration” and “donation” that would justify bringing in the U.S. Attorney. This is being used more by political opponents as an example of how Rauner isn’t a typical person.

HOW MANY OF us could get Arne Duncan on the telephone to talk about our kid, then come up with that kind of contribution?

Therefore, don’t vote for him come March 18.

But, let’s be honest. I’m sure there are many of us who would think nothing of doing exactly what Rauner is alleged to have done – if they thought it would get their precious child into a better quality school.

If anything, this might merely bring about some envy that Rauner was capable of doing something they could not.

AS FOR HOW this would impact Rauner’s chances of becoming governor someday, I’m not sure. It might be a combination of this, along with the flack he’s still getting concerning whether or not he really wants to decrease the minimum wage in Illinois and whatever future tidbit crops up about him that makes him too “odd” in order to win.

If anything, this might further kill any chance he has of gaining significant voter support outside of Cook County. After all, here’s a guy fighting to get his kid into the Chicago Public Schools system – albeit at one of its cushier outlets.

Most of the rural and suburban people are trained to think of a Chicago school as something to be fled from.

But unless one of the alternate Republican candidates is able to make a legitimate claim that they can do better, they may still wind up as being the three “stooges” who fight amongst themselves to split up 70 percent of the primary vote – while Rauner takes the remaining 30 percent and “Wins!” come Election Day.

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