Chicago Teachers Union marches in Loop, slams CPS as 'broke on purpose'

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Chicago Tribune

By Juan Perez Jr.

Thousands of Chicago Teachers Union members and their supporters blocked a downtown stretch of LaSalle Street early Tuesday evening, staging a show of force amid an intensifying contract battle.

"You have to remember that what you're fighting for is not just a fair contract, it is the history of fair contracts," CTU President Karen Lewis told supporters gathered outside the Thompson Center. "And if we have a chance, this is it. This is the time where you have to stand up and tell 'em all 'No, we're not going to take that.' "

Demonstrators marched from the Thompson Center to the Chicago Board of Trade building, where speakers repeated calls for progressive tax policies voiced during the union's failed bid to unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who stepped into the mayoral race and forced a runoff as Lewis' handpicked candidate, addressed the crowd before the march.

Chicago Public Schools says it is wrestling with a $1.1 billion deficit weighted with pension payments. The CTU rally featured the union's new slogan: "CPS: Broke on purpose."

FULL story and photo gallery at link.

http://www.trbimg.com/img-55779bf3/turbine/chi-rally09crowd-20150609/750/750x422

Downtown rally
Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Teachers Union members and supporters march down LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago on June 9, 2015.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-teachers-rally-met-0610-20150609-story.html

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. Oh those heavy pension payments...

that Rahm and his buds are poised to steal.

[valerief]

2. I love the "CPS: Broke on purpose" and "CPS: Corrupt Patronage System." nt

[littlewolf]

6. when I read the headline I thought WTF I thought CPS was

child protective services. then I read the article.
thanks.

[drm604]

3. Can someone who's familiar with this fill in some details for the rest of us?

When they ask for progressive tax policies what exactly are they talking about? Is this about city income tax? Is the current tax not progressive?

The article quotes a union delegate as saying "there's a lot of money on LaSalle Street". Is this Chicago's equivalent of Wall Street? I see from Wikipedia that this is where the Chicago Board of Trade building is.

It sounds like Chicago's problems are caused by tax cuts or inappropriate spending (on things other than CPS). Is that the case?

[surrealAmerican]

4. You are right about LaSalle Street.

There are also "TIF" districts, which funnel money away from the schools (and parks and libraries) for the mayor's pet projects - including "sweetheart" deals for wealthy interests.

[d_legendary1]

5. Pension payments? That's baloney!

What about all those contracts that privatized part of the public school system's services? Like those private janitors that cost CPS 340 million and filthy schools? And what about those swaps deals that costs them $500 million? And then there's the State Legislature that allowed the district to underfund the pensions for years. Now when its time to pay the piper they wanna cut teacher's pay for their negligence? C'MON MAN!!!


http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/mayor-rahm-chicago-schools-janitors-privatization-teachers-grievance/Content?oid=17897031

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83533601/

http://www.progressillinois.com/news/content/2015/06/02/emanuel-names-four-new-cps-school-board-members