Chicago Aldermen are Invited to Meet with the Chicago Teachers Union

Update:  03 October 2011 22:17 

Teachers union officials discuss 'better school day' in meetings with aldermen

CTU president Lewis says union was 'blindsided' by resolution calling for longer day

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Tribune reporter

9:21 p.m. CDT, October 3, 2011

Hoping to tell their side of the longer school day story, Chicago Teachers Union officials met with 25 aldermen in private briefings Monday.

Union president Karen Lewis said the union was "blindsided" by a City Council resolution last month supporting a longer school day, so she asked to meet with local elected officials. Another eight aldermen sent representatives to the gatherings at the Hotel Al "The big problem is this started as a political football when our 4 percent raise was denied us and then (longer school days) was kind of crammed down our throats," said Lewis after the meetings.

She said the union took the opportunity to explain why it has focused its discussion on having a "better school day" filled with extra instruction in science, social studies, physical education and the arts, rather than supporting Chicago Public Schools' plan to add 90 minutes of instruction a day this year at schools that approved the idea in exchange for incentives and teacher bonuses.

The union's own proposal, which was added to the packet handed out to aldermen, included adding only 65 minutes of instruction, which will require no extra teacher pay. An earlier CTU proposal had advocated an extra 75 minutes.

Lewis, who has rejected the district's offer to serve on an advisory committee for instituting a lengthened school day next fall, when the district can do so without teacher approval, held her position Monday.

But she seemed open to at least talking to schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard about his latest request that she help pick 25 more schools that could implement longer hours beginning in January.

"We're always open to discussion," Lewis said. "I'd be willing to talk to him about that, at this point."

CPS officials said they were encouraged and they still hoped to persuade Lewis to join the advisory committee.

"Karen has refused to serve herself, but she is the voice of the 23,000 teachers in our system and it is important that she is at the table with us and others on the committee," said district spokeswoman Becky Carroll.

At the briefings Monday, union officials also discussed issues like tax increment finance district reform, charter schools and merit pay, another thorny issue that will be raised when contract negotiations start soon.

As for the longer school day, a handful of aldermen Monday urged CTU to work with the school district on getting more schools to sign up for the CPS pilot program in January.

"Not one alderman is opposed to adding 90 minutes," said Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th. "The only hurdle is how do we implement it. … If everyone can put their differences aside, we can come up with a happy medium."

Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd, said the turnout was larger than most briefings with the mayor.

"There was nothing negative said about the mayor in my discussion at all," Fioretti said. "We need a broader discussion. This is not all one way."

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Readers,

The Chicago Teacher's Union has called meetings with Chicago Aldermen for Monday, October 3, 2011.  Not all aldermen are comfortable with the manner in which Chicago school teachers have been treated by the Mayor and his administration.   Two local aldermen (Sposato and Cullerton) are quoted in the Chicago Tribune article (below) with their concerns. 

Clout Street

Chicago Teachers Union wants to meet with aldermen

Chicago Teachers Union officials want to make their case directly to aldermen to counter the blitz Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration has undertaken to institute a longer school day.
Union president Karen Lewis sent out letters to aldermen Wednesday, inviting them to attend one of three private meetings at a Loop hotel Monday to “share our vision for Chicago’s public school educators and students.”

“In the wake of ongoing media attention and dueling sound bites, CTU has been working effortlessly to engage leaders, parents, educators and community partners in substantive conversations about the important issues at hand,” the letter reads.

Emanuel has made lengthening the school day at Chicago Public Schools a cornerstone of his first months in office. He got state lawmakers to approve a plan to allow additional time, and has pressed the teachers union — publicly and in private meetings with Lewis — to enact the change sooner than next school year.

When the union didn’t agree, district leadership reached out to teachers at individual schools to buy into the plan, and 13 schools have agreed to extend their days. Lewis has said that the union wants to make sure a longer day is “a better school day.”
The City Council approved a resolution earlier this month supporting a longer school day.

Ald. Nicholas Sposato, 36th, said it will be helpful for the teachers union to explain their position directly to him and his colleagues at the Monday meetings.
“I think teachers have gotten vilified lately,” said Sposato, a Chicago firefighter who supports a longer school day. “Somehow or another, things got twisted around about this.”
Ald. Timothy Cullerton, 38th, said a longer day is a good idea, but trying to implement it school-by-school is not the right way to go about it. “It’s just how we implement it and what we do with these extra minutes. . . .I don’t agree we should entice one school against another school,” Cullerton said.

The meetings also will touch on issues of school funding, teacher retention, merit pay and school violence, according to Lewis’ letter.
In addition, the union hopes to gain aldermanic support for two ordinances the union wants to get introduced to the City Council, spokeswoman Stephanie Gadlin said. One would declare a surplus in the tax increment financing districts that pull property tax revenue away from schools. The other would require vacant buildings near schools to have watchmen.

By John Byrne and Hal Dardick Clout Street

6:54 p.m. CDT, September 29, 2011

Public Safety in the 41st Ward: Current Concerns

29 September 2011
New Sign at Norwood Park
Thanks to whoever was responsible.

Norwood Park
 27 September 2011
Photo Submitted by a Reader

Update 9/29/2011  19:10  
The sign in the picture has been replaced.  New picture coming soon - thanks for the update Joan!

Update 9/27/2011 14:57
Received an email from Jason Hernandez, Senior Advisor to Alderman O'Connor:

"As for the public safety comment, I know that Alderman O'Connor has been advocating to make sure our communities receive an adequate amount of city services, especially when one considers the amount of taxes our constituents pay into the system. She is the process of coordinating with her local colleagues regarding the 16th District. As soon as I have any news or developments, we will share them with you and the public". 

Update 9/27/2011  10:00 

Email to Alderman O'Connor's Office asking to confirm or deny a comment posted about working with all 16th Chicago Police District aldermen (36, 38, 39, 41 and 45 wards) on a joint initiative to address the police officer shortage and public safety needs of the 16th Police District.

Update 9/26/2011 16:49

Posted on Alderman O'Connor's Facebook page, today:

Mary, the 41st ward citizen’s blog has been discussing public safety in the 41st ward. A question from the readers: Will you be issuing a public statement to the city council about the police shortage in the 41st ward, specifically asking for all the sworn police officer positions lost through attrition in the last three years be reinstated (estimated to be about 100 positions)? Thank you

Update 9/26/2011  18:30

Constituent comment deleted on Alderman O'Connor's Face Book Page (see above)

Update 9/24/2011 21:00

See the 16th District Newsletter (scroll down)
____________________________________________________________________

Open post today about public safety concerns.  Send in your comments and observations.  If you have a chance check out the Chicago Police Department's website with all the latest crime reports for the 16th District.  You can even see data at the Beat level and specific changes within the beats.

Clear Path:   Click on District News, District 16 "Crime at a Glance" Reports.  https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/News/Statistical%20Reports/Crime%20At%20A%20Glance/Crime%20At%20A%20Glance%202010%20by%20District/CAAG_Dist_16.pdf

Hard not to notice a few disturbing trends within the data released and the reports. 

Various reports from different sources state shortages of 2000+  sworn police officers in the City of Chicago.   Rahm's redistribution equations have the numbers much lower, of course. 

What do you think?

Social Media and Our Elected Officials

Readers,

This article was sent to me by a reader who was disappointed a comment posted on Alderman O'Connor's face book page was deleted.  The reader argues, "it was a fair question, and polite, I'm not sure why it was deleted.  I believe the Alderman simply didn't want to answer". (See comments under Public Safety post for all the details).

Could be.

This article is from today's Huffington Post (Chicago Edition) and was written by Alderman Moreno, who strongly believes in being accessible to his constituents and doesn't delete tough questions on his face book page.

Thank you, Jim.  Very timely...

From the article: 
"I have a closing message for the politicians who don't use social media: please stop being ridiculous... Hire someone fresh out of college, sit down with them and learn it. Your constituents should demand and certainly deserve that ~ Alderman Moreno"

____________________________________________________________________

Social Media Week, I Mean Social Media Life

Posted: 9/27/11 01:10 PM ET

Last week I participated in a panel discussion for Social Media Week. The panel was moderated by Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey, who definitely has the most personal and probably the most interesting social media content out of all Chicago-area pols.

(The King Of Chicago Social Media himself snapped this pic of me during my presentation)

Basically, the point I tried to make was that there's literally no excuse for elected officials not to utilize social media. I would love to be known as the most accessible alderman in the city. Having a presence on all the different platforms is an important piece of this effort.
Frankly, I'm embarrassed for elected officials who don't take advantage of social media as an obvious resource.
Anyone can learn how to use the technology. I'm not tolerant of people saying they can't learn new things. That's one my biggest pet peeves. But I often find myself having to defend Facebook, as the umbrella term for all social media, as a thing to "older" people. It's so boring. I'm sick of hearing that Facebook is "a waste of time," "why do you care about what people had for lunch?" and all the other common blah-blah they say. 

It's incredibly easy for 1st Warders to DM me for a service request, ask me what I think about an issue or sometimes to call me bad words. I get a ton of ideas and feedback from Facebook and, thanks to my Hootsuite Twitter stream, I don't think I've ever been better informed.

Personally, I find it much more interesting to receive requests for city services through social media. It's nice to be able to put a face, and a personality to the people who you're serving. Exchanging emails with people about garbage collection, rodent abatement, etc. can be so dry. It's just simply more pleasant to carry out this bread and butter work when you know what the person on the other end of the request looks like and is interested in.

I often find it difficult to talk about my social media "strategy," and finding it difficult to talk about anything is a complete rarity for people in my line of work. I'm not entirely sure why it's hard to talk about. I'm not sure I have a "strategy"... perhaps it's simply something one can either do well, or not very well.

I have a closing message for the politicians who don't use social media: please stop being ridiculous... Hire someone fresh out of college, sit down with them and learn it. Your constituents should demand and certainly deserve that.  

Editorial: Everyone needs a flu shot

Flu shots are a smart idea.  Check out the new, tiny, "ouchless" needle or the nasal mist vaccines.

Editorial: Everyone needs a flu shot - Chicago Sun-Times

Editorial: Everyone needs a flu shot

Editorials September 23, 2011 7:54PM

Updated: September 25, 2011 2:31AM

Flu shots date back to the end of World War II, but most Americans still don’t get one.

This year, though, public health officials are hoping they’ll manage to get more than half of the nation immunized, up from 43 percent. What they’d really like to see is every American over the age of six months rolling up their sleeves for a shot — or opting for one of three alternatives — as the annual influenza season rolls around.

For the first time, there are four ways to get vaccinated: a regular shot; a nasal mist with a weakened virus; a tiny “ouchless” needle, or a high-potency shot for people 65 and older. Illinois officials are urging seniors to get vaccinated now.

As memories of the 2009 flu pandemic are fading, officials worry that any sense of urgency is fading, too. But there’s no reason not to take advantage of the 90 million doses available now and 80 million on the way. Last flu season, 114 children died. And a survey released Wednesday by Walgreens said the most recent flu season cost 100 million lost work days, $7 billion in lost wages and 32 million missed school days.

Get your shot.

Norwood Park Resident & Entrepreneur Owns Successful Fair Trade Jewelery Business

Congratulations on your sucessful business and commitment to the fair trade philosophy...

From today's Sun-Times:

Fair Trade Biz Sells Itself

By:  Sandra Guy

As a program manager at an educational nonprofit group in India, Bharathi Gunasekaran was struck by how the artisans and craftsmakers she met relied on fair-trade work to support their families.

“It is tangible,” said Gunasekaran, who recently moved to Chicago. “I got to travel to major cities such as Calcutta, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad to meet the women who produce goods sold here.”

She volunteers at Greenheart Shop, one of two fair-trade stores in Chicago’s city limits, at 1911 W. Division St., where she arranges products and explains to new customers the fair-trade philosophy. The other city store is The Fair Trader at 1623 E. 55th St., in Hyde Park.

Fair trade is based on paying artisans — primarily women in developing countries — livable wages for their work, ensuring safe and honorable workplaces and selling their products at a “just” price.

Though the products often cost more than goods at discount or department stores, Gunasekaran says she budgets carefully so she can buy the responsibly crafted, environmentally friendly items that catch her eye — a $32 blanket made of recycled saris or $3-to-$5 packs of greeting cards, for example.

Despite the recession, sales of fair-trade products reached $1.2 billion in the United States in 2009, a 12 percent increase from 2008, according to the latest data available from Fair Trade USA. Sales of fair trade-certified foodstuffs at gourmet and grocery stores are growing at double-digit percentage rates, too, according to SPINS, a company that tracks such sales.

Chicago entrepreneur Megy Karydes, a 38-year-old Norwood Park resident, has leveraged social media to establish her fair-trade credentials and to expand her fair-trade jewelry sales to 200 retailers nationwide in 18 months.

She is planning to double her distribution again in 2012 through her company, World Shoppe LLC. Among her retail customers are the fair-trade stores in Chicago and the gift shops at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Karydes keeps her retail prices lower than $100, so earrings sell for about $40, bracelets $50 to $60 and necklaces about $70 to $80.

“This isn’t an impulse buy for most people,” she said. “Many shoppers choose these as Mother’s Day gifts or for a best friend who is getting married.”

Karydes started selling fair-trade products online nearly eight years ago, but quickly realized that shoppers wanted more contemporary designs.

She reworked her strategy and traveled to South Africa to find what she considered a unique, more sophisticated look that would appeal to young, urban customers.

Karydes, who helps design the copper and brass jewelry she sources from an 18-person artisan group in South Africa’s Western Cape province, writes a daily blog that she tweets and posts on her Facebook page.

“The blog isn’t meant to generate sales. It shows customers that I have a pulse on what’s going on in the community,” said Karydes, who serves on the board of the Fair Trade Federation.

Much like organics labeling, the “fair trade” label is ambiguous enough that major companies often boast on products that fail to meet the required standards. The self-regulatory National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has called on TransFair USA, which licenses Fair Trade seals, to make clearer what the term means.

That’s why Karydes is careful to tell her social-media followers about her fair-trade involvement and her ability to alert them to the latest issues facing the industry.

Karydes’ posts on Facebook, which include customer testimonials, new jewelry designs and photos of jewelry at retail, have garnered 10 to 15 percent of her customer base.

“It all has to work together and get people talking,” she said. “Retailers and shoppers may have cut back on their budgets, but they are looking for products that are new and that align with their values.”

Next year, she plans to create an iPad version of her digital catalog and put QR codes on her printed material, including catalogs and business cards.

Social media is about building relationships, said Mana Ionescu, president of Chicago consultancy LightspanDigital.

She advises small-business people to engage their customers in conversations, rather than broadcasting messages, and to find people with similar interests by using search.twitter.com or tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.

“Show your interest and seek out opportunities to help customers and followers,” Ionescu said.

16th District Newsletter September 2011

	16th District News & Views Published by the 16th District Community Policing Office
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011	Volume 15, Issue 1
In This Issue: ·  Commander’s Corner ·  News You Can Use ·  Success Stories ·  Beat Meeting Schedule Community Policing Staff Sergeant Patrick Haran Officer Rose Miller Officer Jennene Whalen CAPS Organizer John Eischen Contact Us: District: (312) 742-4480 CAPS: (312) 742-4521 Fax: (312) 747-4421 Email: CAPS016District@ chicagopolice.org THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS A NEW WEBSITE THAT SERVES AS A LIBRARY OF CRIME STATISTICS CITYWIDE, AND IN PARTICULAR, THE 16TH DISTRICT. TO VISIT CRIME AT A GLANCE GO TO: WWW.CHICAGOPOLICE.ORG IN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN SELECT CRIME AT A GLANCE AND THEN SELECT THE 16TH DISTRICT.	16th District 5151 N. MILWAUKEE CHICAGO, IL  60630 Commander’s Corner: David R. McNaughton, Commander, 16th District As we move into autumn the children have returned to school, and we are all settling back into our daily routines after an active and hot summer.  Crime has not taken a holiday in the 16th District, but we will continue to work together to maintain the low level of violent crime, and to reduce all incidents of crime. Our district is continually searching for ways to reduce crime, and many of the tactics that we employ require your assistance.   The two crimes that we look at to measure violence in a police district are shootings and robberies.  Unfortunately, we can’t report that we have reduced these two crimes in 2011.  To be sure, our number of occurrences compared to other police districts remains amongst the lowest in the city, but we are not satisfied with simply maintaining a low level of violence our goal is to have zero violent crime. Thus far in 2011 we have had 29 more robberies then occurred last year during the same time frame and 3 more shootings.  The robbery number is a concern because in 2010 we experienced the lowest number of robberies in the last 15 years, and a 35% decrease from the previous year.  Although, we are still down 28% when we compare 2011 to 2009 we are not satisfied with the current trend.  How can we do better and see a lower number of crime victims?  The police can do much on their own, but we need the help of all our citizens if we ever dream of reaching our goal.  The most effective Patrol tactics in order to reduce street level violence is continuous contact by our police officers with criminals.  When you see suspected gang activity, unruly behavior or suspicious persons in your neighborhood, call 911.  Let us know what you observe.  This gives our police officers cause to take action, and it better directs their patrol activity.  When we respond to your call for service it supports our reason to investigate individuals.  Your call allows our officers to investigate and take action which could be as simple as memorializing our encounter with a contact card, writing the subject a ticket or making an arrest.  By increasing the number of encounters, and taking effective action we will reduce the amount of crime.  Your support is the fuel that supports and sustains our effectiveness, and with your assistance we can continue to achieve our goals in crime reduction. Another Job Well Done by Chicago’s Finest! On July 27, 2011, Tactical Officers Wendy Weller and Tony Lafata were assigned to a robbery mission.  The Officers monitored a flash message of a robbery which had just occurred at a T-Mobile cell phone store located at 4001 W. Montrose.  The Officers, armed with knowledge from video and photos of prior robberies of cell phone stores, observed the offending subject and vehicle fitting the description of the robbery offender. The subject was positively identified in a line up for not only the robbery that occurred on July 27, 2011 but an additional cell phone store robbery which occurred in the 016th District on July 24, 2011 at 4809 W. Irving Park.  Due to the Officers’ keen observations and dedication to duty, the subject’s gun was recovered and he was charged with two counts of Armed Robbery.

BEAT	DATE	LOCATION
1611	3rd Thursday of the Month on all odd months.  Alternate is 1612.	St. Thecla (Queen of Peace) 6333 N. Newcastle
1612	1st Tuesday of the Month on all even months.  Alternate is 1611.	Olympia Park 6566 N. Avondale
1613	2nd Tuesday of the Month on all odd months.  Alternate is 1614.	Oriole Park 5430 N. Olcott
1614	4th Tuesday of the Month on all even months.  Alternate is 1613.	Pavilion Apartments 5441 N. East River Rd
1621	3rd Monday of the Month on all odd months.  Alternate is 1622.	First Congregational Church of Forest Glen  5400 N. Lawler
1622	2nd Wednesday of the Month on all even months.  Alternate is 1621.	Dunham Park 4638 N. Melvina
1623	3rd Wednesday of the Month on all odd months.  Alternate is 1624.	16th District Police Station 5151 N. Milwaukee
1624	4th Wednesday of the Month on all even months.  Alternate is 1623.	Portage Park Senior Center 4100 N Long
1631	1st Thursday of the Month on all odd months.  Alternate is 1632.	Hiawatha Park 8029 W. Forest Preserve
1632	2nd Thursday of the Month on all even months.  Alternate is 1631.	Schorsch Village Hall 6940 W. Belmont
1633	3rd Tuesday of the Month on all odd months.  Alternated is 1634.	Merrimac Park 6343 W. Irving Park Rd
1634	4th Thursday of the Month on all even months.  Alternate is 1633.	St. Bartholomew Church 3601 N. Lavergne

Beat Meetings Start at 7pm

HOME SECURITY TIPS
Ensure all locks to outside doors are deadlbolts with a minimum of 1 to 1-1/2 inch bolt.   Make sure locks are installed on screen doors, storm doors, garage doors, cellar doors and patio doors, including second floor patios and decks.

Ø  DOORS AND WINDOWS

Always lock all doors and windows, even if you will only be out for a few minutes.  Almost half of all burglars enter through unlocked doors and windows.

Ø  LIGHTING

Make sure all porches and other possible entrances are well lit.  A well lit location is better protected than a house without lights.

Ø  LANDSCAPING

Overgrown bushes, tree limbs and landscaping can provide cover for burglars.  Trim all shrubbery to height of the porches or windows.

Ø  TRASH

If you have recently purchased large items such as televisions or stereo equipment, do not discard the boxes until the morning of garbage pick up day.

Ø  TIMERS

Utilize automatic timers to turn on lights and radios at different times of the day.  It is an easy way to disguise the fact that you are not at home.

Ø  VACATION

Have a trusted neighbor pick up your mail and newspapers while you are on vacation and have them occasionally use your garbage cans.

 

Another Look at the Longer Day...

Time to look at another view about why the longer school day is being shoved down our throats without any discernible plan......  If the mayor really "cared about the kids", he would hire science, music, art teachers, etc, so those 90 minutes would be well spent.

Mayor union-buster 

Rahm Emanuel fights the Chicago Teachers Union over a longer school day–and it’s not about the kids

By Ben Joravsky

Ben Joravsky on Politics archives »

At last month's budget hearing at Kennedy-King College, Mayor Emanuel let it be known he's got nothing but love for public school teachers. In fact, he thinks they're "really good."
I guess he's just got a funny way of showing it.
Within days of the hearing Emanuel unleashed an awesome full-court public relations offensive slamming teachers for selfishly resisting his good-faith effort to lengthen the school day by 90 minutes. And he's shown no signs of letting up.

Hats off to the mayor for this one. As political campaigns go, it's a rip-roaring success, with almost every columnist and editorial writer in town chiming in to say, right on!
I haven't seen such love between the mainstream media and a political boss since Mayor Daley tried to bring the Olympics to town.

They all agree: more time in school has to happen right now. Never mind the details such as what teachers and students will do with that extra time. This has to happen—you know, for the kids.
Oh man. I always get a little nervous when Chicago operators start talking about doing things for the kids—that's when you can be pretty sure they've got some trick up their sleeves. As a matter of fact, Mayor Daley said he wanted to bring the Olympics to town so he could build more recreational facilities in low-income areas for the kids—as opposed to billions of dollars of contracts for the well-connected.
The showdown over the longer school day comes in the midst of an ongoing tussle between the mayor and the teachers union over money. Teachers want to hold on to what they've got and the mayor wants to give them less, probably so he has more left over to spend on other things, like deals for cronies and contributors.
But don't let anyone fool you—this fight over the school day is not about kids. Fundamentally, it's not even about money. It's a political power play by a crafty mayor who's looking to undercut the teachers union, one of the few sources of potential opposition left in this town.

Specifically, Emanuel is trying to make good on a hastily conceived promise made during last winter's mayoral campaign. That's the one where Emanuel, searching for a campaign issue—any campaign issue—that would make him look like something besides Mayor Daley's handpicked successor, declared that Chicago's public school students spent too little time in the classroom. He vowed that he would lengthen the day if elected.

He didn't talk about what students would do with that extra time, since he didn't actually know. Nor did he show any interest in hiring more art, music, and drama teachers so the extra time would be particularly worthwhile. It was more like, "The schools suck—so I'll make the kids spend more time in them!" 

To be fair, Emanuel's not the first mayor to try to cram some half-baked education idea down the throats of teachers and students. He's not even the first mayor to talk about expanding the school day—Mayor Daley talked about it all the time.
Not that he ever followed through. Daley was an all-powerful mayor who controlled billions of dollars. If he wanted to lengthen the school day, he could have done so at virtually any time during his 22-year reign, especially during the go-go real estate boom of the late 90s and early 00s when the city was flush with cash. All he had to do was come up with the money to hire more school aides so teachers could have a break from their kids and the kids could have a break from their teachers.
But Mayor Daley wanted to spend the money on other things, such as—well, you know the list: the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, MillerCoors, the underground rail station at Block 37 that will never open . . .
Ahhhhhh!!!
Sorry—I had to stop. Just thinking about the station at Block 37 worked me into the kind of red-faced lather that Daley used to display in the final days when he'd start railing against the teachers, reporters, U.S. Supreme Court justices, or anyone else in his path.
I suppose Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, could have gone along with Emanuel, as her predecessors generally went along with Daley. She'd have spared herself the bitter debate with the mayor that included such heartfelt moments as "Fuck you, Lewis."
Then again, we ought to look at this from her perspective. The longer-school-day showdown comes on the heels of two years' worth of teacher-bashing dictates from the board of education. Faithful readers, you know this list too: adding hours, cutting raises, getting rid of tenure, creating the dreaded do-not-hire list for teachers who cross their principals, and of course, turning more and more resources over to the charters.
Yes, charter school teachers can form unions. But it's a struggleCTU loses. And there will be more—we're up to 71 and Emanuel says he wants to keep them coming.

If I didn't know better, I'd say Emanuel's hell-bent on turning teachers into patronage workers—like the scores of city workers the old sewer department boss Donald Tomczak used to dispatch to the precincts on election day to work for Mayor Daley's favorite candidates, including a certain congressman by the name of Rahm Emanuel.
Next thing you know, teachers will be showing up at press conferences to say they're happy working longer for less. Oh, wait—they already did that at the United Neighborhood Organization, Emanuel's favorite charter school empire.
I will say this—Emanuel has tried to soften his approach in the last few weeks. He and his sidekicks in the central office of the Chicago Public Schools have miraculously discovered enough money in their budget—the one they could only balance by raising property taxes—to give teachers a one-year, 2 percent raise if they break from Lewis and vote for the longer day.
It's amazing how they always mange to find a little more fat in a budget that's been cut to the bone.
I'm not surprised that Emanuel's found some teachers to go along with this scheme. Especially with the do-not-hire sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of new teachers—if they run afoul of the principal, they risk being banned for life from teaching in Chicago.
By pressuring teachers to vote to waive the union contract and work the longer day, Emanuel is urging teachers to break ranks from their union at the very moment the union and board are sitting down to negotiate a new contract to replace the existing one that expires next June.
I'm not sure what's to be gained for the kids by breaking the union and turning their classrooms over to teachers who, like Tomczak's city workers, cower in fear at the boss.
But then, like I was telling you, this really isn't about the kids. It's about adults using kids to amass more power.
While the longer-school-day battle was raging . . .
I met with a teacher who works at a north-side charter school.
After taxes and health insurance deductions, her monthly take-home pay is about $1,800—not quite enough to pay all her bills.
She says she's going to drop medical coverage for her two children and go on All Kids, the state-funded insurance program for children whose parents are too broke to pay for private premiums.
It used to be that public school teachers formed the backbone of working-class and middle-class neighborhoods.

Today's teachers have to look for charity.
Way to go, Mr. Mayor and civic Chicago—if you're looking to destroy an honorable middle-class profession, you're doing one heckuva job.