Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is dealing with a 12-day-old teachers strike that features a contest between the most radical union in the U.S. and one of the nation’s most radical mayors.
It’s not going to end well for her.
When the strike began she told the teachers “there is no more money.” All that did was whet the appetite for battle by the teachers who are now almost certainly going to get almost all of what they want.
Lightfoot is being hit over the head by reality.
“We spent the last 14 hours bargaining today, and we are not close to where we need to be on the big issues,” said Sybil Madison, deputy mayor for education. “We’re going to return tomorrow and work diligently to close the divide.”
Soon after, Chicago Teachers Union president Jesse Sharkey and vice president Stacy Davis Gates said that the union’s most recent proposal asks for an additional $38 million in funds over the city’s last offer.
“That’s the distance that remains between the two parties,” Sharkey said. “We feel like we need to be able to get there.
Sure, why not? It’s only $38 million. And that’s Lightfoot’s problem. The city is facing an $800 million budget shortfall and the union is perfectly willing to exacerbate it. Not their problem and not their money. They apparently don’t see why the city council can’t just slap a few more cents on the dozens of taxes that residents are already paying. Piece of cake.
[…]
See Also:
(1) Trump unloads on Chicago’s top cop and his pal ‘wise guy’ Jussie Smollett
