Chance the Rapper has shown his support for his hometown and the education of children by donating a massive $1 million to public schools in Chicago, after an unsatisfying meeting last week with the man who wishes to brutally cut funding for the system.
Chance The Rapper donates $1 million to CPS
The musician met with the Governor of Illinois Bruce Rauner on Friday, following a Twitter exchange with the governor, in a bid to shed some light on the proposed cuts to public school funding – a move that many have branded as ‘racially biased’. But it seems he got less than satisfactory answers from him because yesterday (March 6th 2017), Chance decided that he would make the substantial donation to the Chicago Public School system – a particularly generous offering when, according to some sources, he only earns $2 million a year.
‘Today, I’m proud to announce that I am donating $1 million to CPS to support arts and enrichment programming’, he said at a press conference at Westcott Elementary School. ‘While I’m frustrated and disappointed in the governor’s inaction, that will not stop me from continuing to do all I can to support Chicago’s most valuable resource: it’s children.’ Chance had previously said that Rauner gave him ‘a lot of vague answers’, none of which were clarified in the brief phonecall they had over the weekend.
‘As a CPS graduate, Chance has shown Chicago students not only the heights they can achieve but the generosity they can share’, CPS spokesperson Emily Bittner said in a statement obtained by CNN. ‘We also appreciate his strong advocacy for Chicago schoolchildren, who suffer under the state’s discriminatory system of funding, which Gov. Rauner continues to perpetuate.’
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Of course, the $1 million doesn’t get close to matching the $215 million funding bill that CPS had been hoping for, but Chance has described his move as a ‘call to action’ and urges major companies to get on board. He has also promised himself to donate an extra $10,000 from his non-profit foundation SocialWorks for every $100,000 raised.
