ABC 7 Chicago: CPS students can begin applying to elementary, high schools for next year Monday

One of my own regrets from my time in the 8th grade is that I never got a real grasp of CPS' process as far as which schools I could attend and what programs they offer. Often I was dependent upon my parents or even my teacher. It seems like a nifty process students have to be able to chose where they can go to school.

Hopefully today's students take advantage and of course do their "due dilligence" on those schools and programs of their choice.

Visit go.cps.edu

For pre-k programs chicagoearlylearning.org.

Chicago Teachers authorize a strike

Sorry to have missed this from CapFax yesterday. The teacher's union authorized a strike in a vote that concluded late Thursday.

Of course in sharing this news, Rich Miller made sure to remind of us a state law that requires the Chicago Teachers Union getting 75% of all teachers to vote for a strike. He also notes that such a law didn't stop CTU in 2012 with 90% of teachers cast ballots. This time around it was 94% who cast ballots. Read about it at Capitol Fax.

State strike law is 0 for 2 https://t.co/sfxscoSaw2

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) September 27, 2019

I must also add as I blogged about during the past week the attention Chicago teachers have received from Democrat presidential candidates.

Sun-Times: Take the deal, CPS teachers. You’ve won

An editorial from the Sun-Times on Wednesday. I wonder what the results of that strike vote from CTU will be?

They should accept the latest contract offer from the Board of Education, a sweet deal that most Chicagoans would just love to get.

They should vote against authorizing a strike. Given our city’s dire financial condition, taxpayers wouldn’t rally around them.

And let’s not forget the 296,752 schoolchildren who’d be sitting at home learning nothing if the teachers walk out.

That’s a locked-in raise every year of 3% to 3.5%, more than what most workers are getting — if they’re getting raises at all.What employee, in any job, would turn down a 16% raise over five years?

Then add in the pay hikes to which teachers would be entitled based on seniority and level of education. With those “step” and “lane” raises, the average teacher would pull in almost $100,000 a year — up from about $79,000 now — by the end of the five-year contract.

But don’t stop there. Consider, as well, how little more teachers will be asked to contribute to their health care. Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s negotiating team is asking CTU members to pay a modest 0.75% more over the entire five years.

Tribune: Bernie Sanders, John Cusack rally with Chicago teachers as strike vote begins

As it was noted the luminaries spoke at a Chicago's Teacher's Union rally I must have misunderstood something:

The 25,000-member CTU embarked Tuesday on a three-day strike vote, which, if the measure passes, will empower the union’s House of Delegates to set a walkout date as early as Oct. 7. SEIU Local 73, the union for the 7,000 support employees, has already authorized a strike, which could occur as soon as Oct. 17.

Meanwhile, here's what happened as strike voting started:

The Chicago Teachers Union brought some celebrity backing to its push for a new contract Tuesday evening, with actor John Cusack rallying with teachers before the evening’s headliner — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders — called for big raises for local public school educators.

“There has never been a better champion for unions than Bernie Sanders,” Cusack said to cheers from a throng of teachers and other local labor group members gathered at headquarters of the CTU on the first day of its vote to authorize a teachers strike.

When the Vermont senator later took the stage, he thanked the teachers union for “becoming the conscience of the United States of America."

“What we are seeing is teachers standing up and fighting for justice," Sanders said. “... Every problem in society — hunger, domestic violence, poverty — it walks into your doors, doesn’t it? You see it every day and at a time when we, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth.
...
Sanders underscored some of the CTU’s specific demands, calling on the city to “negotiate a contract that substantially reduces class sizes” and to “substantially increase the pay and benefits for the teachers in Chicago and the support staff in Chicago,” as well as address the shortages of nurses and librarians.

Earlier at the rally, CTU President Jesse Sharkey called out Mayor Lori Lightfoot, saying she hasn’t offered staffing levels that would ensure librarians, nurses or social workers in schools on a daily basis.

But again Tuesday, the mayor pointed to a city proposal that offers teachers base pay raises of 16% over five years. She also said new positions being sought by the union are “baked ... into the budget for this year.”

At the rally, Sanders also spoke of working people not being able to afford child care and plugged his proposal for free college tuition. After he said, “Let me tell you something else that we’re going to do,” an audience member called out, “Beat Trump!” At that, Sanders laughed while those in the crowd cheered and rose to their feet.
...
Sanders had already shone a spotlight on the labor strife in Chicago Public Schools, tweeting his support earlier this month for the CTU and another group of workers also poised for a possible walkout, including bus and special education aides, custodians and security officers. Leading up to Sanders’ Chicago appearance, two other presidential contenders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden, made similar statements of support for Chicago educators.

Chicago teachers could vote to strike today

Tribune:

Now the CTU facing that decision once more, with members to start voting Tuesday on whether their leaders can call a strike. If 75% say yes, the 800-member House of Delegates will gain the power to set a strike date. The union must give at least 10 days’ notice, so the soonest educators could go on strike is Oct. 7.

The teachers’ vote comes as their support staff counterparts in Service Employees International Union Local 73 are also moving toward a strike, which could occur as early as Oct. 17. And on Monday, educators at Passages Charter School took a strike authorization vote, in the same calendar year of three other Chicago charter school strikes.

Educators and paraprofessionals have taken up each other’s causes and shown up for each other’s news conferences, in turns pressuring the district to reduce class sizes, add staff, increase pay and benefits, and improve working conditions. That unity will be on display Tuesday, when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders is to appear at a joint rally.

I wrote this post in the morning so if there is an update I'll either update this post or share in another tomorrow at the same time.

It's interesting to note how Democrat 2020 hopefuls for President are taking an interest in this strike. Also noted in this article is how the optics seemed to have supported CTU as seeing the best interest in their schools and students. Could we see similar optics if the teachers strike this year?

RELATED: #TBT Teacher's strikes

Fatal shooting in Roseland on Saturday

[VIDEO] This incident took place in a store. Two are dead including the victim who had a conceal carry permit and one of the robbers. However another person in this store survives and police are looking for the other robber.

This took place in Roseland near 112th & Michigan Ave.

Former CPS school to be adapted into a community center

I posted a quick blurb at The Sixth Ward about a community center to be located in a former CPS school named for an illustrious late president of the prestigious Morehouse College. It's a shame that the school had been closed since 2013, but it's great that it had found a reuse as a community center in Englewood.

As so far there have been no further updates that I know of with regards to the now closed Shedd School, I've always maintained this as one idea to reuse that property. Of course, it has to be reused with the right team to execute their plan. Here's hoping there are some updates as far as what's next for the former "John G. Shedd Public School".

Time for an updated pic of Shedd School

#TBT Teacher's strikes

I'm sharing two videos of past actions that involves Chicago's teachers. We can start with September 2012 with the Teacher's strike. I recorded this on my iPhone back then when the teachers were marching in downtown Chicago. I was probably walking along Jackson Boulevard near LaSalle Street back then.

I wrote for the YouTube description that I had no real idea how to use the camera on my phone so this video does have "vertical video syndrome" [VIDEO]

This other video also shot on my iPhone took place in spring 2016 and was on Michigan Avenue south of 95th Street. These demonstrators were just leaving nearby Harlan High School. While the 2012 strike seems to identify as major combatants then Mayor Rahm Emanuel and then CTU President Karen Lewis, these demonstrators were railing against then IL Governor Bruce Rauner. I'm sure in 2018 they got their wish and Rauner after one ineffective term was bounced right out of the governor's mansion in Springfield, Illinois. [VIDEO]

I really wanted to share with you the hilarious Vertical Video Syndrome as hilarious as it was the first time I saw it. It was made more hilarious with the "muppets" 😛

Drama teacher charged with sexual assault of student

[VIDEO] I'm not going to say too much or editorial a lot about this. What's mentioned in the above report from CBS 2 states what I wanted to say he was a husband and father who is charged with sexually abusing one of his students. Now he has his mugshot in a TV report, online and perhaps even on a newspaper since I really first heard about this from the Sun-Times.

Regardless, another sexual abuse allegation out of a CPS school. CPS already has to face a number of issues and now they have to face sexual abuse allegations.

Amazon's hiring in Chicago

Amazon Jobs

We get a quick blurb from Chicago Tonight

Amazon is roughly doubling the number of employees in its Chicago Loop office, adding 400 new jobs and 70,000 square feet of new space. But these aren’t warehouse jobs we’re talking about – they’re new hires that will work in fields including cloud computing, advertising and business development.

There are currently more than 400 people working in Amazon’s Chicago office at 227 W. Monroe St. supporting the company’s web services, advertising, transportation and operations units.

The new Chicago jobs are among more than 30,000 positions Amazon is working to fill nationwide.

Get your resumes ready and brush up on your skills.