Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle, center, talks to Chicago Public Schools Interim Chief Executive Officer José Torres, left, and Chicago Board of Education member Luisiana Meléndez, right, during the Chicago Board of Education’s first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic began at the Chicago Public Schools headquarters in the Loop, Wednesday morning, July 28, 2021.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
In his first school board meeting as interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools, José Torres said he wants the district to prioritize reengaging 100,000 students over the next month who are at risk of leaving the school system largely because of the pandemic.
Strike by Cook County and Chicago workers in danger of another SEIU sellout
The strike by 2,500 public sector workers in the Chicago area is continuing into its third week with no public updates made between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. The union claimed to be “bargaining into the night” but offered no details.
Striking Cook County, IL health care workers outside of John Stroger Hospital in Chicago, IL. [WSWS Media]
Striking workers are in direct conflict with the Democratic Party, which has controlled the state of Illinois, Cook County and Chicago for decades, and has implemented austerity policies that have gutted public services and wages of state, county and municipal workers with the support of unions like the SEIU.
The students will have the option to learn remotely through a centralized system that does not require teachers to instruct them simultaneously with students in the classroom.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file
Staff at public high schools across the city stayed home Wednesday, protesting Chicago Public Schools’ reopening plan.
Even so, Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said that a “fairly limited set of issues” remain and he described bargaining between the union and administration as “fairly productive.” Negotiations continued into Wednesday evening, and it wasn’t yet clear whether teachers would work from home again Thursday or return to schools.
Sharkey later clarified his remarks while talking to reporters on an online news conference, saying, “There has been progress, but not adequate.”
He added: “It’s our feeling CTU is making very reasonable demands.”