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As a CTU staffer mulls a mayoral run, and hopefuls vie for the union’s nod, questions swirl about the CTU’s ability to unseat Lori Lightfoot.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Priceless, all through Covid Lightfoot groveled, capitulated, caved and basically carried the water for every CTU demand. Now she’s gonna learn that she should have locked out all their Zoom logon id’s the day they refused to go back. Leftists cannibalizing leftists never ceases to be great entertainment, if you like train wrecks.
Part of me would enjoy watching CTU manage the city. Rumor has it CTU is notoriously inept at maintaining their OWN budget; I can’t imagine how they’d manage a complex one such as Chicago’s. Every union would line up expecting generously “fair” contracts. CTU will learn how hamstrung the city is by state law on how they can raise revenue and their extreme measures will sour suburban Democrats they need to pass anything. Corporations will flex their muscles as CTU realizes Chicago needs corporations more than corporations need Chicago, and when CTU buckles, all the progs will give them hell.… Read more »
Go for it. The more success these lib/prog/Dem twits have, the quicker we find a bottom for the City… Once we hit bottom, it either dies or adults take over…
You really hit the nail on the head. The farthest left CTU candidate would be only a step or two to the left of Lori Lightfoot, but would not have a personality nearly as sweet and warm as the mayor’s. Chicago is like an alcoholic or drug addict resisting change and healing. It is only when addicts and alcoholics reach absolute rock bottom can life long recovery and healing take place. The CTU will get the city to that rock bottom so much faster. Let us hope that there is enough of the city left to save.
Be careful here HH,
Detroit did just that with a similar foul mouthed mayor that had a 20 year tenure. There have been a few bright spots but on the other hand many formerly inhabited city blocks don’t have a single standing structure left. Believe it or not, parts of Detroit are becoming what they used to be — farmland!
CTU are the scum of Chicago. Incompetent, lazy, hateful morons who couldn’t get a job anywhere else. There is only one solution: Bust this union now. School vouchers for all. And tie their pensions to the student performance: 20% of students read at grade level during a teacher’s retirement year then they get only 20% of pension. Frankly, that’s generous.
Thomas Sowell points out that taking the same skills and levels of education into the free market, most teachers would earn 55% of their current wage. Teachers are a protected class because they are a money machine, delivering votes to The Party. Their secondary role is to indoctrinate youth into 2 things: gender theory: normalizing pedophilia and child pornography and perpetual victimhood through enforcing racist doctrine though CRT. All whose purpose is to inculcate lifelong passivity to the state. It is time to stop thinking of teachers as “dedicated” , or “underpaid” or “hardworking”. They are the communist party: “The… Read more »
The CTU slogan should be “Dead from Red Ed!”
Here’s something to ponder. Who owns or has title to any particular public school? Is it the union? Is it the administration or teachers? Is it the general public? Those who are employed there are just that. Employees! The super or teachers or food service workers are there providing a service and are employees of an entity and none even the super has title or the right to sell anything in a school even a desk or a chair. They have no shares of stock to buy and sell. So why and how is it that they accumulated so much… Read more »
“If a group of employees are not happy with circumstances/compensation they are free to find employment elsewhere.” Or they are free to organize and negotiate for conditions to their liking. If they still don’t like their pay and work conditions they are free to stay at their job under the current contract and continue to try and improve their situation or then they can quit their job. The same goes for residents of Illinois. They are free to organize around their preferred candidate and change the schools or other government officials that will provide them with the services they prefer.… Read more »
The vermin of CTU are the poster child of everything that’s wrong with Public Sector Unions. Bust them all.
Not going to happen Tommy boy. At least not anytime soon. If anything, union rights could be enshrined in the constitution. This initiative was put on the ballot by both Democrats and Republicans. In fact, over 60% of Republicans in the Senate voted for this in ballot initiative. That doesn’t sound like elected representatives that would be willing to bust the union.
If voters don’t want CTU running the school district then they should vote that way.
Lol, I notice you didn’t deny that “ctu is everything that’s wrong with public sector unions.”
“elected representation”? Ha ha ha you mean bought and paid for shills.
PPF a true pensioner’s pensioner. Seriously, tell me your a communist Marxist without telling me you are a communist Marxist. Honestly I do admire your persistence. However time and reality will catch up to the Illinois pensioner.
I don’t think I’ve ever made statements supporting CTU. I have made statements about contractual rights, the rights of people to freely associate to negotiate pay and benefits as well as voters are responsible for the government they elect. I also point out the reality of implementing some of these far fetched ideas. These truths tend to hurt the delicate nature of so many commenters. What you Aaron (and many others) struggle with is the concept that voters have decided that they want CTU heavily involved in the decision making or they wouldn’t elect the people that are in charge.… Read more »
All true. Though, the issue is that they (the rank and file) really just marches as told because, as intelligence likely follows a normal distribution, CTU isn’t staffed by those to the right of the mean… And, even a bit to the right doesn’t indicate a great reservoir of capacity… So, yeah, again, the W just means we more quickly move to Detroit status where the adults can take over…
The public is responsible for electing leadership. If the voting public puts the teachers union in charge of CPS then that’s what they want and their votes and wishes should be respected. Let all the good and bad that comes out of it be put on display for all to see for any future elections. The voters will continue to get the government they deserve.
Fred, don’t confuse a government jobs program with education.
It’s going to be interesting watching the various “everyone’s a victim” woke-n-broke factions poke each other in the eye on behalf of their candidate.
This would be a complete disaster for Chicago.