Some people just talk a big game, but Chance The Rapper is literally putting his money where his mouth is. The MC announced today (March 6) that he would be donating $1 million to Chicago Public Schools.
Last week, Chance had a meeting with Gov. Bruce Vincent Rauner of Illinois to discuss helping CPS. However, the rapper walked away from the sit-down frustrated and disappointed to the politician's plans. So, now he's taking things into his own hands for the greater good of Chicago's inner city kids. Chance held a press conference at Westcott Elementary School to speak about his initiative to help Chicago's youth.
“This isn’t about politics. This isn’t about posturing,” Bennett told the press. “This is about taking care of the kids.” Then, he told reporters that he'll be donating $1 million from his recent concert sales to the CPS. Chance called this a “call to action.”
The rapper also took the time to slam Gov. Rauner during the conference, too. Back in December 2016, the politician vetoed $215 million in CPS. “Governor Rauner, do your job,” Chance said. The iHeartRadio Best New Hip Hop Artist also stated that he saw the governor's plans for the city. “Governor Rauner would like for the narrative of this conversation to be that our conversations were to help find a way to subsidize funding for CPS,” he said. “That’s not what I told y’all, that’s not what’s going on.”
He added: “I want them to fund CPS. It’s not my job to propose any policy or be behind anything other than the kids,” he added. Chance wants to take his innovative one step further, as well. The recording artist said that for every $100,000 that's raise on the CPS website, he would add an additional $10,000. He called on fellow artists and friends to help out with the cause, too. Chance will be speaking with fellow Chi-Town MC Common to discuss the project later today.
Chicago Public Schools have suffered underfunding for quite some time now. Due to lack of money, CPS ordered four unpaid days in January to schooling staff. Moreover, the district's officials recently announced that the school year could end a few weeks early this year, if the CPS doesn't obtain more money from the state.
Shoutout to Chance for having the backs of people -- specifically kids -- who need help and needs often fall on deaf ears.
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