“Look at the murder rate in this city. He’s murdering schools. He’s murdering jobs. He’s murdering housing. I don’t know what else to call him. He’s the murder mayor,” she said.
Praising someone who’s closed the most black schools in history, covered up the shooting of a black kid and the teachers union helped remove from office … If you still believe dude is change we got a bridge to sell you in Gage Park #fakesters
it was only a few years ago that Karen Lewis, God Rest her Soul, called out Rahm Emmuale for destryoing the city schools and black families …
the muder rates in the the black community are off the charts in 2023
Murder in black neighborhoods in Chicago has reached on per day.
These statistics shows clearly the mayor’s office has no clue what they are talking about when it comes to violence in our city, they are not even close to understanding even the basics of what needs to be done to start working on the gang and drug problems in our city …
Race and Gender – Homicides in Chicago Jan 1 to July 1, 2023*
Race Gender Count Black Male 225 Black Female 31 White Male 39 White Female 13 Other Male 4 Asian Male 2
Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis held a rally at Mahaila Jackson Elementary School, 917 W. 88th St., one of the 52 schools CPS has decided to shutter
DNAinfo/Quinn Ford
CHICAGO — Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis lashed out at Mayor Rahm Emanuel Thursday after Chicago Public Schools released its list of schools to be closed, calling him “the murder mayor.”
“Look at the murder rate in this city. He’s murdering schools. He’s murdering jobs. He’s murdering housing. I don’t know what else to call him. He’s the murder mayor,” she said.
Lewis called the school district’s decision an “abomination” and said it should find ways to raise revenue by getting the mayor’s “rich friends” at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade to pay “their fair share.”
The mayor, who was out of town on a family ski trip, drew the brunt of her comments, but issued a statement.
“Over the past decade, this decision was delayed while we put more money into keeping buildings open rather than investing it where it should be — in our children’s education,” Emanuel said. “Our children’s futures are bright and consolidating schools is the best way to make sure all of our city’s students get the resources they need to learn and succeed.”
Emanuel and Lewis have clashed publicly, notably during last year’s teachers’ strike. In 2011, she accused the mayor of pointing his finger at her and yelling, “F— you, Lewis.”
“This policy is racist. It’s classist, and we have to continue to say that our mayor, who was away on a ski trip, dropped this information right before spring break,” Lewis said. CPS students go on spring break next week.
But the mayor said, “By consolidating these schools, CPS can focus on safely getting every child into a better performing school.”
Chris Geovanis | 312-329-6250 | [email protected] | Mobile: 312-446-4939
Mayor’s budget address dodges eight years of failed leadership, neglect of city’s working class neighborhoods.
CHICAGO, October 17, 2018—Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey issued the following statement in response to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget address.
“This mayor wants a victory lap – after he closed half the city’s mental health clinics, instigated the largest mass school closing in US history, snatched millions of dollars from our most vulnerable special education students, swept a CPS sex abuse scandal under the rug, destroyed after-school programs with austerity budgets – and is threatening student lives with a dangerous nursing shortage. That’s rich.”
“This mayor stood by while the South and West Sides confront Great Depression-era unemployment, two of the bloodiest years in recent memory, a massive affordable housing shortage that pushed thousands of predominantly Black people out of the city, and claimed helplessness during the state budget impasse that his mentor Bruce Rauner instigated. Now he claims he wants to put ex-offenders to work. That’s rich.
“This mayor covered up the Laquan McDonald shooting and fought police reform until he was forced into change by the federal administration he used to work for. That’s rich.
“This mayor claims to lead a sanctuary city – but continues to maintain and enforce a gang database that has led to the deportation of innocent city residents. That’s rich.
“This mayor shoveled public dollars to developers for years, slashed a corporate head tax at a time of record corporate profits, enriched Goldman Sachs in a pre-K profit-taking scheme, promised billions in tax subsidies to the richest man on the planet, and took a photo op with another billionaire snake oil salesman promising to build an express train to O’Hare while the Red Line extension remains a pipe dream. And while those in his city outside the downtown party zone cried out for help, this mayor nickel and dimed them with fees, fines, water tax hikes, cell phone hikes, and more. That’s the definition of rich in this new gilded age.
“It’s an understatement to call this too little, too late from this mayor.
“Will Chicago’s next Mayor look to the current failed mayor or to the future? We’re clear where we stand – and what we demand. We live in one of the wealthiest cities on the planet – and it’s time for that wealth to fund real human needs instead of corporate greed.
“The next mayor must invest in mental health clinics and social services, fund smaller class sizes for children, massively expand and rehabilitate affordable housing, broaden sustainable community schools, and create a real jobs program that puts tens of thousands of people in our most neglected neighborhoods back to work. These critical needs must be funded by the elites who’ve won all the gains under this mayor – and given so little back to the vast majority of our working class families on the South and West Sides. The new mayor must support a graduated income tax at the state level, and generate new revenue from a corporate head tax, moving TIF slush funds to public needs – including our public schools – and ending the regressive taxing schemes and costly borrowing that benefits big finance at the expense of the rest of us.
“Our schools need social workers, nurses, school psychologists, teacher assistants for early childhood, libraries with librarians, and hundreds of millions of dollars in basic repairs that Emanuel has ignored while he’s funded a charter expansion frenzy and pricy corporate contracts that leave our schools filthy and falling apart. Union charter educators need a living wage and real classroom resources, instead of siphoning off those funds for management bloat and fat cat salaries for charter executives.
“This is not a pie in the sky agenda. It simply requires a reset of mayoral priorities – away from corporate welfare for the elites and into public resources that lift up all of our residents and create a more just and sustainable city.
“The City Council has the capacity to build real equity, transparency and accountability into the next City budget. And a new mayor has the ability to change course and end the disastrous consequences of the last eight years of misleadership. Let’s get to it.”
Chicago Teachers Union calls on mayor to resign over police shooting
Aamer Madhani Published 7:26 p.m. ET Jan. 7, 2016
USA TODAY
CHICAGO — The Chicago Teachers Union is calling on Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Prosecutor Anita Alvarez to resign over their handling of the police officer involved shooting death of Laquan McDonald.
The union, which has 27,000 members, said Thursday that their governing body voted overwhelmingly to formally support a push by activists for Emanuel and Alvarez to step down. Activists have repeatedly called for both Emanuel and Alvarez to step down since the court-ordered release in November of police video that shows the black teenager being shot 16 times by a white police officer.
The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged by Alvarez on the same day that the video was made public and 400 days after the shooting incident. Both Emanuel and Alvarez have said they have no intention of stepping down. Alvarez faces two challengers in the March 15 Democratic primary.
“The actions of both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez impeded the criminal justice system, and in the process has led to the erosion of public trust and confidence in their leadership; and the only way to restore this trust is with their resignations,” the union said in its resolution.
The resolution calling for the resignations of Emanuel and Alvarez come as the city and teachers union are locked in a contract dispute. The union, which has been without a contract since June, last month authorized leaders to call a strike.
The union is pushing for more school programs, smaller class sizes, a 3% salary increase, and pay for snow days. The school system, meanwhile, is looking for teachers to take a pay cut and pay more in health care premiums.
The school budget is facing a roughly $500 million shortfall. Emanuel has warned that job cuts at the city’s schools could be coming early next year unless state lawmakers take action with an aid package for the cash-strapped school system.
