This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.
What would it take for you to complete high school, even if all the odds were against you? Would the promise of a job after graduation entice you to see your high school career through to the end? That was the hope of then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who proposed a program in September 2012 to inspire Chicago youth to graduate from their city high schools. Some saw the proposal as a blatant bribe, while others called it an initiative that could potentially increase the dismal graduation figures that were then a reality in the city.
The Problem with Chicago Schools
Graduation rates in Chicago Public Schools were dismal indeed, although they had seen the slightest uptick in the years before the proposal. The Chicago Tribune reported in 2012 that graduation rates stood at just 60.6 percent, which was higher than it had been in previous years. By comparison, Chicago Public Schools reported an 83.4 percent four-year graduation rate for the Class of 2026. This increase does not establish that the hiring preference caused the improvement.
Students in the city had many obstacles getting in their way of education, including a high crime rate in their neighborhoods, low-income families, and many kids with just one parent. Many kids in the Chicago school system were receiving some sort of government help, with a large percentage qualifying for the free or reduced lunch program.
In September 2012, Chicago Public Schools experienced a seven-school-day teacher strike after the teachers union and city officials could not come to an easy agreement on contract terms. Some of the concerns voiced by teachers at the time could have played a role in low graduation rates as well, such as oversized classrooms and lack of proper teaching resources. Teachers also complained that there were not enough services available for the students who needed them most, such as those coming from low-income families. While the strike was subsequently resolved, it brought attention to many of the gaps in the Chicago Public School system that had not been fixed at the time.
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Although services had been rendered to children in need as much as the school system was able, it had not been sufficient in improving graduation rates significantly at that time. With a high number of high school drop-outs in the city, predictions of rising crime rates and instability were a concern for residents and lawmakers alike. The best bet was to get students through high school and into good-paying jobs, which was the focus of Mayor Emanuel’s 2012 proposal.
Introducing Job Application Preference
ABC7 Chicago reported that Mayor Emanuel had announced a new program that would offer graduates of Chicago public schools “job application preference” for available jobs in the city. Under the 2012 proposal, the city’s Department of Human Resources would have the responsibility of ensuring at least 20 percent of the candidates referred for a position with the hiring preference were Chicago Public Schools graduates. Applicants would need to provide a diploma or transcripts as proof of their time in the city’s school system.
“This new hiring preference encourages our students to stay in school and get their diploma so they are prepared for college and a career,” Mayor Emanuel stated at the time.
According to Emanuel, helping students succeed was an important responsibility of the city government. In addition to the programs then in place, this addition was designed specifically to ensure students had the foundation necessary to get a good job after high school. WGN TV explained this program was modeled after a similar one then available to military veterans.
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“From cradle to career…we are committed to helping our students succeed every step of the way,” Emanuel added in a press release that was quoted at the Chicago Tribune.
City departments had to opt into the job application preference program, as reported by The Columbia Chronicle. Some of the jobs that might have been included in the program were sanitation workers, tree trimming, and graffiti removal. Although the applications from Chicago graduates could be given preference, it was not a guarantee of a position. Graduates would have to go through the hiring process just like all the other applicants. However, the policy would give Chicago graduates a “leg up” in the process. It also provided the city with a pool of educated, qualified applicants.
“This is an important step as it not only encourages our students to stay in school and get their degrees but also helps fill the gap between skilled employees we need with students we know have received a quality education in our public schools,” Soo Choi, then Commissioner of the City Department of Human Resources, told NBC Chicago.
Bribery or Positive Incentive?
While some were applauding Emanuel’s efforts to ramp up graduation rates in the city, others were likening the new program to simple bribery. In a scathing criticism of Emanuel’s 2012 plan, Ethel C. Fenig wrote at American Thinker, “Bribery is a way of life in Chicago, this is just another bribe dressed up as good government, good education.” Fenig asserted that it was not the job of the government to care for Chicago’s youth “from cradle to career,” but the job of parents. Fenig also brought up the fact that parents of children who worked hard to put their children through one of the city’s private schools would not have the same advantage as students from the public school system.
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Despite these concerns, many in Chicago believed any step toward higher graduation rates was a step in the right direction. Any incentive that convinced the troubled youth in the Chicago school system that there was hope beyond high school could be significant in changing the future of at least some. At the time, it remained to be seen whether Emanuel’s plan would be a boom or bust to the public school system in the city where he then served.
