Oct. 07--Karen Lewis, whose bid to challenge Mayor Rahm Emanuel was derailed by a cancer diagnosis a year ago, will run for re-election as president of the Chicago Teachers Union in May, a CTU spokeswoman confirmed.
Lewis, 62, has been the union's president since winning a runoff election against incumbent Marilyn Stewart in 2010. She brought fresh vigor to the 30,000-member union, taking on Emanuel following his election in 2011 and then leading her membership on a historic seven-day strike in September 2012.
Lewis won a second, three-year term as union president in May 2013. She was poised to run for mayor when she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last year. She sat out the mayoral election but has since returned to work and has appeared at a number of CTU events and rallies.
jjperez@tribpub.com
