Mr. Haley,
I am not alone in noting how your rhetoric regarding District 97 changed when your daughter entered the system. Ignorant, unsubstantiated vitriol is how I would characterize it.
I am not suggesting you changed your tune out of self-interest. Rather, I suspect you simply saw first hand the effort and quality of the board, teachers and administration. Even though you have changed your tune, I wonder how many Oak Park voters your negative editorializing permanently poisoned in regard to the elementary schools in Oak Park.
But redemption is possible. I suggest that, when you endorse the referendum (cancel my subscription if you do not), you make a public mea culpa regarding your past positions and apologize for the damage you may have done to the elementary schools of Oak Park. Such a confession might help put the referendum in the win column.
Jim Whalen
Oak Park
