To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here. Million dollars spent on Emanuel TV ad Thursday, Sep 20, 2012 * Late yesterday afternoon I told you about a new TV ad featuring Mayor Rahm Emanuel and paid for by a school reform group. Since it was posted late, some of you may not have seen it. Have a look… * Script… Like all Chicagoans, I’m glad the strike is over. These were difficult negotiations, but here’s what we achieved. A full day for our kids, so they can meet their full potential. Principals will have the freedom to hire the best teachers. Parents retain the right to choose the best school for their kids. And for the first time, student achievement will be part of a teacher’s evaluation. Change is never easy, and this contract certainly wasn’t. But more time in class and more accountability is the right deal for our kids. * What I didn’t know at the time was how much money was behind the ad. CBS2 has that info… A million dollar TV buy put the mayor’s spin all over the airwaves Wednesday. Emanuel discusses the teachers’ contract in the ad, which was funded not by the city or the mayor himself, but by Education Reform Now, a group which has battled teachers’ unions across the country. Wow. Has there ever been anything like this anywhere? I have never heard of such a thing. A million samolians is plunked down by an anti teachers union group so that a Democratic mayor can stress the positive outcome of a teacher strike. Welcome to the 21st Century. * Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union is running a radio ad… Click to download * And the head of the CTU, Karen Lewis, says Emanuel hasn’t reached out to her since the union ended the strike… Has the mayor called? “No.” But “I’m not surprised he didn’t call,’’ said Lewis, who said previously the mayor threw the f-bomb at her during one of their early private meetings. “I haven’t had a relationship with him so I don’t know why it would start today,’’ Lewis said. “People want to make this out to be a big fight. I don’t even think about him.’’ However, Lewis conceded, union literature about the deal specifically mentions that if the two sides don’t extend the contract to four years, it will conclude in the middle of a mayoral campaign. Time to govern, people. * Emanuel also hasn’t reached out to the “Rahm Emanuel likes Nickelback” guy… Conan O’Brien’s staff took notice, featuring the signs on the late-night comedian’s website and even parodying them. National and international news media ran stories about the guy with the Nickelback sign and a “denial” by an Emanuel spokeswoman that the mayor does not really like the Canadian pop rockers. (There was no reply to a Wednesday email asking if Emanuel likes the other seven performers Konkoleski chose). In fairness, Konkoleski said he likes all kinds of music — except country — and admitted he has songs on his iPod by some of the acts he accused the mayor of liking, including one each by Milli Vanilli and Michael Bolton. “I don’t know if we’ll ever meet face to face,” Konkoleski said, adding that he voted for Emanuel last year, “but if we do, we can at least strike up a conversation about Milli Vanilli and go from there.” - Posted by Rich Miller

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