Chicago teachers on strike

Chicago politics have many problems for conservatives and liberals alike.

Perhaps if conservatives want to gain more power in Chicago they could try a different approach; the whole "teachers are the only problem with our school system" argument has become rather blase now. Time for a different approach methinks.

It's beneficial to have an example of liberals festering in their own crap.

For the record, I'm not a Chicago taxpayer, Illinois property owner or taxpayer. So, I honestly don't care what happens in that city.

It sucks for the kids, yes, but I have zero power in that state. It's the Teacher unions fighting the elected liberal leaders. They don't listen to people like me.

Like I said before Rahm Emanuel might be a liberal but he's not a good guy.

Don’t feel sorry for her when she moans about Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s bully tactics and trash mouth. Lewis has one of her own. Here she is bragging about smoking weed in college, cracking homophobic slurs about Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s lisp, and whining about teachers being “demonized” at a “social justice” conference:

Chicago teachers strike continues, Emanuel says he will sue to force end

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he will file a court injunction to force an end to the Chicago teacher's strike which is heading into its second week.

In a statement, Emanuel blasted the teachers union for failing to end the strike and said he plans to file an injunction to force the strike to end and get kids back to school.

"I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union. This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children. Every day our kids are kept out of school is one more day we fail in our mission: to ensure that every child in every community has an education that matches their potential," Emanuel said.

"I have instructed the City's Corporation Counsel to work with the General Counsel of Chicago Public Schools to file an injunction in circuit court to immediately end this strike and get our children back in the classroom." the mayor said.

"This continued action by union leadership is illegal on two grounds – it is over issues that are deemed by state law to be non-strikable, and it endangers the health and safety of our children...While the union works through its remaining issues, there is no reason why the children of Chicago should not be back in the classroom as they had been for weeks while negotiators worked through these same issues."

The agreement calls for a 3 percent raise this year and 2 percent in each of the next two years. If the agreement is extended for an optional fourth year, teachers get a 3 percent increase. The increases will result in an average 17.6 increase over four years, the district said.

The deal could worsen the Chicago Public Schools financial crisis. Emanuel said the contract will cost $295 million over four years, or $74 million per year.

Debt rating agencies had previously warned that the new agreement with teachers could bust the school district budget and lead to a downgrade of its credit rating.

The district has drained all its financial reserves to cover an expected budget deficit over the next year and has levied the maximum property tax allowed by law.

Lewis said that teachers also fear that when the strike ends, Emanuel will soon announce the closing of scores of schools to save money to pay for the new contract with teachers and to make room for opening more charter schools.

Teachers won a concession from Emanuel that half of all teachers hired by the district must be union members laid off from school closings.

The Chicago teachers strike may not end the way they want it to: Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans Sunday evening to sue the union and force what he called an illegal strike to end immediately.

“I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. “This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children.”

After little over two hours of reportedly contentious deliberation on Sunday afternoon, 800 teachers union delegates voted against ending the strike after negotiators from the district and the union had reached a tentative deal.

Jewish delegates, facing the arrival of the Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, at sundown, also requested more time to examine the proposed three-year contract. Union officials pushed the next delegates meeting back to Tuesday, meaning teachers wouldn’t be back in class until Wednesday at the earliest.

“This continued action by union leadership is illegal on two grounds — it is over issues that are deemed by state law to be non-strikable, and it endangers the health and safety of our children,” the statement said.

Riptide, I know that you're a more liberal guy here.... but conservatives pretty much are the the laughing stock in Chicago politics. So, we have like negative power there.

Chicago should be a liberal utopia.

Updates....

Mayor Rahm Emanuel to striking Chicago teachers: See you in court

Just like Somalia would be a conservtive utopia, eh?

Chicago is more about corruption then any sort of liberal values.

Though I am just curious, what do you consider a liberal, because a lot of what you are trying to pin on (what I define) liberal is grossly unfair. If you want to paint all liberals as the extreme end, I just want to know where the line is drawn.

Just like Somalia would be a conservtive utopia, eh?

Chicago is more about corruption then any sort of liberal values.

Though I am just curious, what do you consider a liberal, because a lot of what you are trying to pin on (what I define) liberal is grossly unfair. If you want to paint all liberals as the extreme end, I just want to know where the line is drawn.

Johnson can pull off this political jujitsu because, he says, on some issues he is more liberal than Obama while on other issues he is more conservative than Romney. “I don’t want to bomb Iran,” Johnson says, ticking off a laundry list of his positions. “I want to get out of Afghanistan tomorrow and bring the troops home. I’d like to end the drug wars. I would repeal the Patriot Act. I would have never signed the National Defense Authorization Act. I am promising to submit a balanced budget to Congress now. That would mean addressing entitlements and military spending. I am advocating abolishing the income tax and the corporate tax and eliminating the IRS and replacing all of that with one central consumption tax.”

Just like Somalia would be a conservtive utopia, eh?

Chicago is more about corruption then any sort of liberal values.

Though I am just curious, what do you consider a liberal, because a lot of what you are trying to pin on (what I define) liberal is grossly unfair. If you want to paint all liberals as the extreme end, I just want to know where the line is drawn.

The whole broad label Liberal/Conservative thing is silly and, at times, ignorant. There are a multitude of issues on which one can be liberal or conservative. There are social and economic issues and people can fall on extreme sides of either. Just look at Gary Johnson, the current libertarian party candidate. The thing is, people vote with their wallets most often (can't prove it, but wouldn't be surprised) hence why the GOP hates the libertarian party

http://www.thedailybeast.com/arti...t-him.html

Teachers from Highland Park, Deerfield, New Trier Township and Stevenson high schools, as well as Chicago Public Schools, joined Lake Forest teachers on the picket line Monday morning.

They marched in front of Lake Forest High School as parents dropped off students at school, where administrators, substitute teachers and volunteers planned an educational program.

Officials said 50 substitute teachers and at least 50 community volunteers will be on hand Monday. The students will participate in programs that touch on the school's curriculum, including math, science, English and social studies. Among the scheduled programs are Lake Forest police leading a session on criminal justice, and guest speakers addressing topics such as evolution and emotional well-being. If needed, educators are prepared to offer similar sessions the entire week.

Many parents appeared to support the school board during the Sunday. At one point, Hoffmann was greeted by cheers and applause when he said he had been asked in recent days about the teachers: "Why don't you just fire the bums?"

most republicans are merely referred to as conservatives because they are typically so far apart from democrats now. The line almost no longer exists.. it's pretty much liberal dems, independents, and conservative repubs.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/new...7747.story

Schools reopening without union teachers using substitutes? Parents cheering to fire union teachers? The last thing you want to do is annoy the public that pays your salaries.

The whole broad label Liberal/Conservative thing is silly and, at times, ignorant. There are a multitude of issues on which one can be liberal or conservative. There are social and economic issues and people can fall on extreme sides of either. Just look at Gary Johnson, the current libertarian party candidate. The thing is, people vote with their wallets most often (can't prove it, but wouldn't be surprised) hence why the GOP hates the libertarian party

http://www.thedailybeast.com/arti...t-him.html