Teacher strike threats highlight fact that Illinois allows such walkouts

Illinois is among the minority of states allowing teachers to strike. None of Illinois’ neighbors allow it.

Illinois teachers unions officially threatened strikes 188 times from 2010 to 2025, according to state records.

That’s the number of times unions provided the Illinois Educational Labor Relations a required 10-day notice to before going on strike. So that doesn’t include the number of times the unions threatened walkouts without filing that notice.

While no teachers unions went on strike in 2025, eight filed strike notices, according to the board. Unions have walked out 58 times since 2010.

That’s a reminder that Illinois is in the minority in allowing teachers unions to walk off the job. The state is one of only about a dozen that allow teachers to strike. None of Illinois’ neighboring states permit teacher walkouts.

And among the 10 largest school districts in the U.S., Chicago is one of just two that allow strikes.

The Chicago Teachers Union, the state’s largest local teachers union, has a history of putting its agenda ahead of students. It has walked out on students five times over the past 14 years:

• In 2012, a strike during contract negotiations kept kids out of classes for seven days.
• On April 1, 2016, the union conducted an illegal one-day strike in response to alleged “union-busting” efforts of former Gov. Bruce Rauner, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former CPS CEO Forrest Claypool.
• In 2019, a strike during contract negotiations closed schools for 11 days.
• In January 2021, classes were canceled when CTU refused to return to school for in-person learning following COVID-19 closures.
• In January 2022, CTU walked out on schoolchildren for five days. Parents were notified of the strike after 11 p.m. on a school night, leaving them just hours to plan after the union decided not to show up for Chicago’s children.

Last year CTU came close striking once again after rejecting recommendations from a third-party fact finder in its negotiations with Chicago Public Schools. That rejection caused CTU and CPS to enter a legally required 30-day “cooling off” period before the CTU was allowed to vote to strike.

Claypool has called for Illinois to ban teacher strikes, noting in a LinkedIn post the detriment walkouts bring to parents and children.

Teacher strike threats create uncertainty for parents and children. Illinois should place kids first and join the majority of states that ban teacher strikes.