e CommonSense: Chester: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Chester: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

The impoverished citizens of Chester have long been a source of wealth for Delco's politicians, and the Board of Control is just the latest example. Vahan Gureghian extracts $2 million per year, and Mike Gillen $50,000 per year, from money intended to educate the poor.

Neither has any shame about it: they are just continuing the long tradition of exploiting the poor in Chester, a tradition that made the Nacrellis very wealthy people. Gureghian and Gillen are more sophisticated than your everyday political hacks: they sell a vision of safe schools and effective education to beleagured, inexperienced Chester parents who are just happy to see their kids get through a day safely, and who wouldn't know a good education if it smacked them in the face. What passes for quality in Chester would never be accepted in Marple or Radnor or Ridley. Gureghian and Gillen are so deeply into this they might have even convinced themselves they are doing the right thing by Chester's children.

Now Governor Rendell has just handed the politicians a new way to extract money from the system for the benefit of one of their cronies: a lawsuit. Which politically-connected firm will get this plum? Our money is riding on Dilworth Paxson, and Judge Clouse's travel buddy Rocco Imperatrice, but we are sure that many of Delco's favored children are lining up to ask Santa for this extra-special, early Christmas present!

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home