Manhattan Institute Fellow Heather MacDonald unpacks criticism crime policies and records under Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on 'America Reports.'

Every American should pay close attention to what’s happening in Chicago, and I don’t just mean the Democratic National Convention.

While Kamala Harris and Tim Walz lay out the Democratic vision for America this week, the consequences of their agenda will already be on full display across my hometown. The plight of Chicagoans is directly related to the promises that Democrats will make on stage, because the party has been fulfilling similar pledges here for decades.

Americans should start by looking at Chicago’s children – the future of the city. Some 329,000 public-school students are scheduled to start class the week after the convention ends, but hardly any will learn. Barely 12% of the city’s elementary school students are proficient in math, while only 16% are at that level in reading. The math numbers don’t budge by the time they reach high school. The reading numbers fall, to just 14% proficiency.

Chicago police officers train at McCormick Place, June 6, 2024, in preparation for the Democratic National Convention. ((Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))

Why are so many students failing? It’s not for lack of taxpayer funding. Democrats have nearly doubled per-student funding in the last 12 years, yet educational outcomes have plummeted over the same........

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