So close, but not far enough.
The Chicago Teachers Union accepted a proposal from Chicago Public Schools — with just one minor change: all missed days must be made up.
That’s a non-starter for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who accused union president Jesse Sharkey of going back on his word when he earlier promised no more stipulations to approve the proposal.
It was a long day. Here’s how it all went down.
10:06 p.m. Lightfoot says CPS students will not make up days lost to strike
Lightfoot said she has said all along the missed days of school won’t be made up, and said union leaders never mentioned that demand in a more than three-hour meeting with officials at City Hall Tuesday.
“CTU leadership has chosen to throw a curveball into the process rather than say yes to victory for the members and our students,” Lightfoot said.
Watch her full press conference here.
NEGOTIATION UPDATE: Tune in now for the latest update on contract negotiations with Chicago Teachers Union leadership. https://t.co/Exq6ZLHwYv
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) October 31, 2019
9:12 p.m. Thursday classes canceled
Chicago Public Schools has canceled Thursday classes.
— Nader Issa
8:40 p.m. CTU accepted proposed tentative offer from CPS — but makeup days may derail strike ending
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body has voted to accept a tentative agreement with Chicago Public Schools, but the union will remain on strike until Mayor Lori Lightfoot agrees to make up all 10 school days missed during the walkout.
The tentative agreement passed with 362 in favor to 242 against.
Nader Issa has more. Click here to read his updates.
7:10 p.m. Text of the tentative CTU-CPS agreement
6:35 p.m. CPS won’t announce school cancellation until after CTU votes
Chicago Public Schools will not cancel classes Thursday until after the Chicago Teachers Union votes on the latest deal from the city, but parents shouldn’t expect a call from the district.
A robocall from CPS said the district will notify parents once a CTU has given a definitive answer. If the decision comes after 8 p.m., parents will not receive robocalls and should check for text messages, emails and social media updates as well as CPS’ website.
— Alison Martin
5:32 p.m. In push to end strike, Democratic leaders show support for elected school board
SPRINGFIELD — Signaling a big push to try to end the strike, both Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton on Wednesday showed their support for an elected school board — which was an ask from the Chicago Teachers Union.
The public show of support could also be a way for the union to save face should the strike end without an agreement on the controversial topic.
Madigan first released a statement, reminding everyone that the House has made efforts to try to pass an elected school board and to give the CTU more bargaining power. The speaker said he will “again give full consideration to these proposals in the upcoming spring session.”
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the statement intended to serve as a reminder of his support.
Tina Sfondeles has the full scoop from Springfield. Read her report here.
4:08 p.m. Makeup days a sticking point for CTU
In a statement, the Chicago Teachers Union said it believes it had a tentative agreement, but it was haggling with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools officials over whether to make up the 10 lost days of school. The mayor has repeatedly said the district would not make up the lost days.
“Why is the mayor taking out her anger over the strike on CPS students by reducing instructional time?” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates tweeted.
The last day of school on the CPS calendar is June 16. If all the missed days were added to the end of the year, school would continue until June 30.
— Nader Issa
3:57 p.m. CTU delegates to vote on whether to suspend strike
The Chicago Teachers Union is convening its governing body for a second straight day Thursday, but this time the union is planning to vote whether or not to suspend the 10-day teachers strike.
The union’s 700-member governing body will meet at 6 p.m. at the CTU’s Near West Side headquarters.
Keep following Nader Issa’s most recent report here and check back for updates.
2:34 p.m. Union rally continues at UIC
After protesting union members briefly blocked traffic near The 78, the rally became a march west on Roosevelt Road, with the group eventually congregating at the University of Illinois-Chicago campus, where a stage had been set up for speakers from CTU.
At the end of the march, teachers that were arrested yesterday at Sterling Bay addressed the strikers. They accused the media of misreporting what happened and said they wanted to set the record straight.
”Yesterday when we showed up to Sterling Bay, we had no intention of getting arrested,” Hilario Dominguez said. “We wanted to deliver a letter asking them to come to the table and renegotiate the billions of dollars they received to give us our money we need to close our contract.”
Dominguez, a special education teacher at Peter Cooper Elementary, said police officers had no intentions of arresting them.
”When we showed up, they refused to meet with us. So we did only what we knew, we civilly disobeyed,” he said. “The police did not want to arrest us, we got arrested because greedy developers put in a complaint to forcefully remove us from the property.”
Dominguez said developers are getting billions of dollars from the city, but when it comes to funding schools, they can seem to find the money.
”To Mayor Lori Lightfoot, this isn’t political, its personal,” Dominguez said. “When you don’t fund our schools, when we don’t get our counselors, our nurses, librarians, students don’t get what they deserve, teachers don’t get what they deserve, it’s personal.”
— Manny Ramos
12:53 p.m. Union members rally at The 78 development site, shut down street
About 500 members of the Chicago Teachers Union converged on the corner of Roosevelt Road and Clark Street early Wednesday afternoon to protest the development of The 78.
The development is one of two mega projects that received substantial public funding from City Council. Teachers picketed the other development, Lincoln Yards, on Tuesday.
Just before 1 p.m., they flooded the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Delano Court, shutting down traffic.
.@CTULocal1 shut down the street on Roosevelt and Delano pic.twitter.com/mFnOImwXHa
— Manny Ramos (@_ManuelRamos_) October 30, 2019
Teachers argue a portion of this funding should be allocated to Chicago Public Schools.
”The 78 is going to bring a lot of money to the city, but will do little to support our neighborhood schools,” said Robert Burton, a 3rd grade teacher who declined to identify the school where he works. “Our focus should be on schools.”
Burton said that the city’s choice to fund mega-developments like The 78 and Lincoln Yards shows the disconnect City Council has for the real issues facing Chicago.
”Their priorities are not with the students of this city and their parents,” he said. “Who could afford to live here? Not me.”
— Manny Ramos
12:22 p.m. CPS will allow CPS football teams to practice during strike
Chicago Public Schools will allow CPS football teams to practice during the strike. CPS Athletic Administration requested the move and received approval from the Board of Education on Wednesday according to a source.
The Illinois High School Association will allow the practices as long as the coaches meet IHSA certification by-laws.
This eliminates the need for the strike to end Wednesday for the football teams to play the first round state playoff games. The teams now have until Friday afternoon or evening for the strike to end.
Several of the 19 teams, including Phillips, Taft, Payton and Kenwood have non-Chicago Teachers Union coaches that meet that criteria. It’s possible not all the teams have coaches that could step in.
— Michael O’Brien
Click here for more details on the terms of the agreement.
10:12 a.m. Lightfoot weighs in on strike from Kennicott Park
“I’m not surprised by the length of the strike,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters gathered at Kennicott Park, where she was scheduled to read to CPS students Wednesday morning.
Calling the contract offer CPS last presented to the teachers union “a very good deal all the way around,” Lightfoot said “the ball is totally in the CTU’s court.”
Lightfoot said she remains hopeful that kids will be back in school Thursday.
“We put a proposal on the table which we’ve asked [CTU] to take to the house of delegates,” Lightfoot said. “I’m looking forward to hearing the house of delegates” vote.
The CTU house of delegates, whose votes could suspend the teachers strike, had an informational meeting Tuesday night, but has not scheduled a meeting for Wednesday as of this morning.
Asked if she had any regrets about the way she’s handled the strike, in particular the 16-percent pay increase offer, Lightfoot said: “I’m not a person who plays games.”
— Stefano Esposito
9:44 a.m. Lightfoot reads to kids at Kennicott Park
While negotiations between CTU and CPS are scheduled to be underway on the Near West Side, Mayor Lori Lightfoot made an appearance at Kennicott Park, one of nearly 700 contingency sites hosting the hundreds of thousands of CPS students out of school for a 10th day on Wednesday.
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— Stefano Esposito
9:38 a.m. CTU members at Malcolm X College for scheduled contract talks
Negotiations were scheduled to resume at 8 or 9 a.m. Wednesday at Malcolm X College. Neither side returned phone calls Wednesday morning seeking to confirm contract talks were underway.
About 20 CTU members could be seen in a first floor conference room. When asked for a status update, one simply said “We’re here.”
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— Mitch Dudek
9:29 a.m. A possible loophole for CPS athletes
The Illinois High School Association’s bylaws do allow for football teams to practice during a teachers strike.
The practices must be approved by the local board of education, in this case Chicago Public Schools, as well as school administrators. The practices must be conducted by coaches that meet the IHSA’s qualification of coaches bylaw, which is below.
Several of the 19 teams, including Phillips, Taft, Payton and Kenwood have non-Chicago Teachers Union coaches that meet that criteria. It’s possible not all the teams have coaches that could step in.
Payton football coach George Klupchak began drawing attention to the possibility on Twitter on Tuesday night.
Michael O’Brien has the bylaws and an explanation of what this could mean for CPS athletes.
7:43 a.m. Not a great day to picket
As teachers gather for a 10th day outside the schools where they work, they face grueling conditions Wednesday as wet snow has triggered a winter weather advisory in effect until 10 a.m.
Lori tryna keep us from fighting! ❄️ but she don’t know we’re some Khaleesi’s out here #CTUSEIUStrike #CPSStrike #Dracarys #FightingForJustice #FairContract pic.twitter.com/L6C8PjJjo3
— Ms. Graziano (@Ms_Graziano) October 30, 2019
6:26 a.m. Chicago teachers return to the picket line
Chicago teachers are carrying on with their strike while they consider Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s latest contract proposal, meaning 300,000 students are missing their 10th day of classes today.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot hand-delivered her new proposal Tuesday afternoon to the top leaders of the CTU — an offer that included $15 million more than the $485 million she had offered previously — in an effort to end the strike that has roiled the city for nearly two weeks. But the mayor and the union officials walked out of their second City Hall meeting of the day without a tentative agreement ahead of the delegates’ meeting.
In a bargaining update distributed to members around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, the teachers union cited victories including additional pay for paraprofessionals and new increases for veteran teachers, but said “significant issues are still unresolved, including the union’s demand for a three-year contract; increases in prep time, especially for elementary teachers; and the district’s push for more standardized testing.”
The union update included this message for striking teachers:
Our Union has been on strike for nine days, now, without resolution. It‘s important that our members measure what we have gained and what we are still determined to gain. With those things in mind, CTU members should discuss seriously the probabilities, risks and rewards to be gained by staying out. It will be up to our members to decide when we have won enough for our schools to accept an agreement and come off the picket lines. As President Sharkey noted the other night, we don’t want to be out on strike, but we are less concerned with a fast resolution than with a just resolution.
— Nader Issa
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