With the public education system failing students, the only way to ensure all children have access to a good education is to expand educational options for all.
The Chicago Teachers Union told lawmakers what to do over 1,360 times in just six legislative sessions. It used its powerful position to pressure the state to follow its radical politics. Here are five examples of the union placing politics over its core purpose.
Much attention is rightly being paid to how city policy can address the need to provide young people with meaningful opportunities for work.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
In 2013, Chicago closed 50 nearly empty schools. Since then, the CTU has barred charters and other schools from using these empty buildings to provide schooling options for local students. After railing against these school closures, CTU leadership locked students out of full-time, in-person learning for 17 months during 2020-21.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson handed parental leave to his former employers at the Chicago Teachers Union with no negotiation. Now the city’s police union wants it.
Being in the top 10 of Illinois’ five statewide pension systems is an investor’s dream and a taxpayer’s nightmare. The median investment is shy of $166,000, but the estimated lifetime payout is $5.5 million.
The Chicago Teachers Union registered its opinion on legislation more than 1,360 times in just six legislative sessions. Its legislative priorities would drive up taxes and make government more expensive, no matter where you live in Illinois.
The graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates in Chicago were below the statewide average in 2022. Reading and math SAT scores were also below the Illinois average. Other large districts in Cook and the collar counties performed better.
An ominously titled document by close confidants of new Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson states the new administration’s top priority is to take more money from households making $100,000 or more to fund what they claim is a “just Chicago.”
The Illinois General Assembly approved $100 million in grants so students can choose a private or public university. But when it comes to giving that private or public choice to low-income students, there soon may be no choice at all.
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...