If passed by voters in November 2022, an amendment to the Illinois Constitution would allow collective bargaining agreements to override state law forever. That gives more power to union bosses than to state lawmakers – and voters.
The CTU president said there was an impasse, with union leaders and Chicago Public Schools administrators divided on quarantine policies and remote learning options for students. School administrators said the union is ‘rejecting the science for their own gain.’
The Illinois Federation of Teachers and National Federation of Teachers filed federal reports showing how they spent money in 2020. Little was spent on what most assume is a teachers union’s central mission – representing teachers.
The Chicago Board of Education approved a $9.3 billion budget that hires 2,000 new, permanent staff using temporary COVID-19 federal aid. There are also concerns about whether 100,000 students will return.
Chicago Public Schools will require all students and staff to wear masks inside school buildings this fall. CPS’s mask mandate ignored the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines that advise masking indoors only for unvaccinated people.
State lawmakers are asking voters to enshrine union powers in the Illinois Constitution. Here’s what to know before deciding the question on the November 2022 ballot.
HB 2789 could threaten in-person instruction at public and private schools while the COVID-19 emergency order – or any other emergency order – persists.