"What Would You Think of a Chef Who Wouldn't Eat At His Own Restaurant?"

There was a big kerfuffle last week when Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel got very impatient with a local reporter after she asked him about his decision to send his kids to private schools, despite the fact that Chicago Public Schools fall under mayoral control. Here's a video of the exchange:




The exchange and the commentary that followed raise a couple of broader questions: should politicians be expected to send their children to schools based on the policies they advocate? Is it fair game for journalists to question elected officials about where their kids go to school? Where is the line drawn between a politician talking about his policies and his family?

Emanuel's dust-up was particularly notable because, while the mayor is a strong proponent of a host of public education reforms, he has yet to embrace vouchers (while one of his opponents for mayor, State Sen. James Meeks, was a voucher supporter). It brings up a question we've asked of many pols (including, most notably, President Obama):

If the schools aren't good enough for your kids, why should they be good enough for everyone else's?

Veteran Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lynn Sweet said it a bit more eloquently (see this post's title), and she also examined the reactions of three politicians to the question of where their kids go to school. Take a look below, and let us know what you think in the comments:

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MAG