The Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign has announced that on April 1 there will be a major action to "Shut Down the City" to send a message to the Financial community that has backed the anti-worker, anti-child efforts of Mayor Emanuel and Governor Rauner that they intend to fight back.
Illinois has been held hostage by Gov. Rauner, Republican millionaire sociopath (Karen Lewis comments on that description), who has refused to agree to a State budget unless the legislature agrees to destroy collective bargaining for state workers, slash their salary and diminish their ability to provide the services they are employed to provide to residents of Illinois. Rauner claims that the State is broke and the cuts and labor rights changes he demands will allow him to "turn around" the financial problems; the "State is Broke", he claims, but it is clear that it is "Broke on Purpose".
Gov. Rauner has in effect confiscated money from the poorest members of Illinois and transferred it to his wealthy friends in the financial shake down industry that want access to the tax money funding public education.
The speakers give the details from each of the areas they represent: high school, college, disability rights, transport and public service workers, child and home care, and education, with Karen Lewis a member of CORE and the President of the Chicago Teachers Union speaking last. It was the Caucus of Radical Educators which won leadership of the CTU and moved it from a passive observer of the educational deform that the Financial class was directing their agents to impose, to one of class analysis, community organizing and unified citizen fight back.
South side Chicago State University, which has played a key role in enabling access to higher education for working class Blacks, is on the verge of closing its doors due to the artificial funding crisis. Northeastern Illinois University, located on the north side, serving a working class population has, announced furloughs uncertain it will be open next Fall.
Jobs With Justice
Introductions are made in each file: File 1 - Linda Lowe, Elizabeth Lawish, Tracey Abman File 2 - Ken Franklin, Todd St. Hill File 3 - Daren Martin, John Miller File 4 - Nadlese Bourgous, Larry Biondi, Faith Arnold File 5 - Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union
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