A natioal republication of our Wirepoints article.

At a time when union leaders claim another $38 million could end the teachers strike, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2020 budget requires the Chicago Public Schools to reimburse the city for $60 million in pension contributions previously covered by City Hall. The historic about-face is buried in the mayor’s budget overview. It states, “In 2020, an additional $60 million is expected from Chicago Public Schools to cover a portion of its share of the city’s annual contribution to the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund.”

Using fuzzy math, the CTU claimed on Monday that the negotiating gap on a new contract stands at $38 million. Using real-world math, that gap is about 2 ¹⁄₂ times bigger — $98 million. Chicago just doesn’t have that kind of money. Really and truly.