Chicago Teachers Union executives say their members shouldn’t have to contribute more money to their retirements because of a contract negotiation nearly 35 years ago.
A group of Chicago unions, including AFSCME Council 31 and the Chicago Teachers Union, have sued the city over a recent attempt to reform two of the city’s four pension funds.
It was huge news in the summer of 2013. Chicago Public Schools, or CPS – one of the largest school districts in the country – had just voted to close almost 50 schools in an effort to right-size the district and eliminate wasteful spending. This meant thousands of CPS students would be attending new schools...
Every year, thousands of struggling Chicago Public School, or CPS, students are sent on to the next grade despite the fact that administrators and teachers know they aren’t ready – and they are destined to fall further behind. Research shows that promoting students before they are ready can have devastating long-term effects. In fact, unprepared...
Chicago teachers are striking. You may recall that they were demanding a 30 percent raise earlier this year, which would have spiked the average teacher’s salary to nearly six figures. But nobody seems to be talking about what this will do to a pension system already in trouble. Chicago teachers’ pension fund is woefully underfunded. According to new...
Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...