* Press release…

Sen. Kwame Raoul joined Chicago Teachers Union officials today, who formally announced that their 24,000-strong union is endorsing Raoul in his candidacy to serve as the next Attorney General of Illinois.

“Our members know how critical it is to support candidates who are principled, trustworthy and committed to the greater public good – not just by the words they speak but by the record of public service they bring to the table,” said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey.”We can count on Kwame to put the people’s business and the people’s needs front and center as Attorney General, something we simply could not expect from some of the other candidates vying for this office. We know he’ll support fair taxes, adequately and fairly funded schools, the health and safety of Illinois residents, and honest, open, accountable government. We’re proud to support him.”

For more than 75 years, the Chicago Teachers Union has been in the forefront of education advocacy and public school reform in Chicago. The CTU represents the teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools and, by extension, the students and families they serve.

Sen. Raoul has been a strong champion of teachers during his 13-year legislative career, and believes that protecting and investing in public education is a critical element in mitigating the violence that plagues Chicago’s streets.

“A quality education is a civil right that must be afforded to all the children of Illinois,” Raoul said. “Unfortunately, we live in a state with a separate and unequal public education system that teeters on the brink of educational apartheid – one for the students of affluent districts and parents, and another for low-income students in districts like Chicago. I’m proud to stand with the CTU in its efforts to ensure that public education is governed and funded with equity, here in Chicago and across the state. I appreciate the CTU’s endorsement immensely, and I look forward to serving the best interests of public school students from across the state as Illinois Attorney General.”

In the legislature, Raoul has voted to increase education funding, fought for more equity in the State’s school funding formula, and is sponsoring legislation to bring an elected school board to Chicago.

“Kwame has consistently demonstrated his belief in democracy and voting rights,” said high school teacher Ben Coyle, who chairs the union’s legislative committee. “He is committed to protecting both the families who depend on public education and the union educators, clinicians, and paraprofessionals who are the backbone of our school communities, and after a vigorous review of all the candidates for AG, we are proud to endorse him.

CTU President Karen Lewis, who has been ill, also sent a statement declaring her support for Raoul.

“Kwame believes in fairness – for our children, our families, our public workers and all of Illinois’ residents,” she wrote. “He cares deeply about the rights and needs of Black students across the city, and as the child of immigrant parents, he’s also committed to the needs of immigrant students and families. As Illinois’ highest ranking legal advocate, he’ll protect the rights and dignity of our schools’ children and their parents, and he’ll advocate for fair treatment for the city’s Black educators, who have seen their numbers decimated by school closures and so-called ‘turn-arounds’. He’s the candidate we need in the age of Trump and Rauner’s attacks on moderate-income and poor families, and for all of our state’s school-children.”

The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), as well as the third largest teachers union local in the country and the largest local union in Illinois. Chicago Teachers Union affiliations also include the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL), the Illinois State Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (ISFL-CIO) and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The union represents nearly 25,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in Chicago public schools, and by extension advocates for nearly 400,000 public school students and their families.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Democratic attorney general candidate Jesse Ruiz…

For months now, Kwame Raoul has been trying to curry favor with the teachers’ unions by claiming that he strongly supports an elected school board in Chicago. But in a March 15 meeting behind closed doors in his Senate office, he bragged to me and to others that he was actually working to delay a pending bill that would enable election of Chicago school board members. That bill still has not moved in the Senate.

Kwame Raoul is the ultimate Springfield insider: He says one thing behind closed doors and something completely different in public. Teachers in Illinois can’t trust Kwame Raoul to fight for them and for our children’s futures.

In December, I called on the Illinois General Assembly to pass new legislation giving voters control of the Chicago Board of Education. I am sorry that the Chicago Teachers Union has been deceived by Kwame Raoul’s empty rhetoric. Illinois voters don’t need a duplicitous, ethically-challenged attorney general.

There was no way on Earth that the CTU would’ve ever endorsed Ruiz because he was vice president of the Chicago school board when it unanimously voted to close 50 schools.

Anyway, I’ve asked the Raoul campaign for comment and will post an update if they respond.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Raoul campaign…

No one can testify to the harm and havoc that Jesse Ruiz wreaked on Chicago’s school children and our neighborhoods more than CTU. Mr. Ruiz voted to close 50 schools, borrowed $1 billion just to cover budget gaps created by his board’s mismanagement and had multiple ethics scandals take place on his watch. Meanwhile, as a legislator Kwame has voted to increase education funding, fought for more equity in the State’s school funding formula, and passed legislation out of the Senate to bring an elected school board to Chicago.

Kwame is on the right side of history and he’s happy to have Chicago’s teachers on his side during this campaign.

That didn’t address the claim at all.

*** UPDATE 3 *** Jesse Ruiz…

“I have been honest and candid throughout my career - as I proved when I publicly stood up to CPS leadership as they tried to sweep an ethics scandal under the rug. People may not agree with every decision I’ve made throughout my decades in public service, but the voters of Illinois can count on my word.

In Kwame’s response to my statement, he attacked me but didn’t deny what he knows to be true: Kwame Raoul told me and others - to my face- that he didn’t support Chicago Teachers in their efforts to have an elected school board. Then he turned around and told the CTU the opposite, in a bald-faced attempt to get their support.

Unfortunately for the people of Illinois, Kwame Raoul frequently finds himself on the wrong side of the truth. The voters deserve better.”

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Press release…

Today, National Nurses United (NNU) and Reclaim Chicago announced their endorsements of Daniel Biss for Illinois Governor. The first union to endorse Bernie Sanders for President and first national labor union to endorse a candidate in the Illinois governor’s race, NNU is the nation’s largest and fastest growing union of registered nurses with more than 150,000 RNs across the country, including 6,500 in Illinois.

Reclaim Chicago is known for its ability to mobilize grassroots volunteers to talk with voters about how our lives and communities could be transformed by electing people who will prioritize Medicare for All, fully funded public education and social services, world-class infrastructure and other investments in the common good. They gave 9,000 hours of volunteer field-work over five months in the 2015 Chicago municipal elections and more than 5,000 hours over 10 weeks to the campaigns of Kim Foxx, Bernie Sanders and many down ballot races in 2016.

Together, these organizations represent national and local progressive communities and will be a dominant force in this election by mobilizing grassroots support for Daniel Biss and sharing his vision of a state government that puts people first.

“Nurses are proud to endorse Daniel Biss because he shares nurses’ values of caring, compassion and community,” said Martese Chism, RN, a member of the Board of Directors of National Nurses Organizing Committee, NNU’s Illinois affiliate. “Under Governor Rauner, our communities are in jeopardy. Daniel Biss shares our vision for an Illinois where every resident receives quality healthcare through a single payer/Medicare for All healthcare system. He rejects the notion that cuts to social services are necessary or inevitable and is committed to raising the progressive revenue that we need to fully fund and expand the services that our communities need.”

National Nurses United cited Biss’ support and co-sponsorship for SB 1970, the LaSalle Street Tax, which would create a tax on the nearly $900 trillion of financial transactions that occur yearly at the Chicago Mercantile and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). While working families pay sales tax for their purchases, LaSalle Street traders pay no sales tax on trades.

“It’s an honor to receive the endorsement of National Nurses United,” said Daniel Biss. “I’m running for governor because our system is broken: for too long, the wealthy and well-connected have gotten further ahead while working families have fallen further behind. In this election, and in elections like this one across the country, we need to decide whether we will compromise within a system that’s failed us, or chart a new path. As the national leader in the fight for Medicare-for-all, National Nurses United understands the stakes in this election. I’m especially proud to have their support as we fight for an Illinois where healthcare is a right, not an option — and where working families are a priority, not an afterthought.”

“Daniel is not a billionaire. He worries about balancing the cost of living with saving for his children’s college education, and he understands that the necessities of life are out of reach for far too many families,” said Amanda Weaver, Reclaim Chicago’s Executive Director. “Daniel knows first hand what a difference it would make in our lives to fully fund public education, to make public universities tuition-free, and to have a Medicare for All system that would free us from the financial crisis that almost always accompanies a health crisis. Daniel is already leading the fight to close corporate tax loopholes and make the very rich pay their fair share so that Illinois can afford to make these investments.”

“I’m incredibly excited to receive the endorsement of Reclaim Chicago,” said Daniel Biss. “By mobilizing middle-class and working people to fearlessly take on incumbents, machine politicians, and the ultra-rich, Reclaim Chicago is changing what’s possible in Illinois.

“It’s humbling and inspiring to join a group of Reclaim-backed leaders including Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, State Senator Omar Aquino, State Representatives Will Guzzardi and Theresa Mah, and so many other progressive champions. Our grassroots movement is proving that that no race is a done deal—that we can reject a mode of politics that has failed our families, and build a state that works for us.”

Reclaim Chicago’s members conduct a rigorous endorsement process. Unlike traditional political parties who close up shop after each election, Reclaim Chicago builds power in between election cycles by organizing grassroots support for public policies that increase investment in our communities and reduce income, racial and gender inequality.