Why Chicago -- & Why Tutoring?

While everyone else may accept the conventional wisdom on this, I remain mystified and impressed that the US Department of Education reversed itself on whether the Chicago Board of Education could be a tutoring provider after months and months of sticking by its guns and saying that the Board could oversee but not directly provide $50 million in tutoring.

Among many questions tumbling around in my head are the following:

-- How did CPS manage to pull this off at the last minute?

-- Why would the USDE care particularly about Chicago's complaints?

-- Why did the USDE decide to provide a waiver on tutoring (instead of other things like the restructuring requirements or the AYP calculations)?