Chicago Teachers Union contract demands are totally divorced from reality – Wirepoints
May 8, 2024
36 Comments
Details emerging about Chicago Teachers Union’s upcoming contract show just how divorced its demands, both extreme and expensive, are from the reality at Chicago schools. It’s not just about massive salary increases, but also about money for migrant students, climate initiatives, abortions and gender-affirming care. About blocking parental notification. Count on CTU’s demands to veer further from reality until the public finally says no.
Weekly crime statistics from the Chicago Police Department: Report through 5/4/2024.
Gov. JB Pritzker calls it “ethics” reform.
It’s rare to see city leaders in Chicago take an open, unabashed stance on the collapse of literacy. To complain is deemed as too political, too racist or too anti-public schools. So it’s refreshing to see Willie Wilson, a successful businessman and leader of the black community, call for a literacy initiative “with the goal of getting 100% of Black students reading at grade level.”
I feel as if pension payments and the related debt is groundhog day in Illinois. It is always in the conversation, yet nothing is ever done to address it. Any corruption in politicians is mirrored by the same in the legal system. The residents need to vote out judges that say pension benefits cannot change. According to “Illinoispolicy.org,” 15% of IL’s workers belong to a union. That doesn’t seem enough to allow them to stand there with the plug for the Titanic and watch it go down at the expense of all those on board. Any solution would have to… Read more »
We all have our own version of “pension reform.” Yours is creative but hardly unique at its core beliefs. Some of your “solutions” aren’t likely any more workable legally than others we’ve seen, but keep them if it helps you to sleep better.
Have you heard from anyone in office now about looking into all the fees and hands the money dedicated to pension payments by the public is costing taxpayers? When the money leaves our hands via property or state income taxes how many organizations are getting paid at each step to process that money. The people who got the contracts to invest are very well politically connected. Billions upon billions every decade go to processing which is taken off the top. Here is an article from 2015 for Calpers pension system in California. They have since reduced some fees but the… Read more »
Yes, I’ve seen your earlier postings on this topic, and I agree with your point of view. But, I don’t know that the whole administrative costs will ever come down. Do we really want the lowest-bidder here? Maybe, but the bigger issue is how effective are they compared to competitors. I can’t answer that, but those in power presumably think about it or at least should do so. Politics always has involved some degree of “what’s in it for me” sorts of decisions, and I’d have to suppose that plays some part here as well. So, replacing company X with… Read more »
Really — 3 years in office and no answers for pensions — bet he has no problem solving issues of pancakes