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* UPDATED x1 * Chicago teachers picket Quinn event

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Dozens of striking Chicago teachers are protesting outside a Sept. 11 memorial event where Gov. Pat Quinn is speaking.

The Chicago Democrat hasn’t weighed in on the walkout, which entered its second day on Tuesday.

As he headed into the event, Quinn walked through the crowd, which sang “Amazing Grace” and held American flags. He said “Good luck.”

The teachers marched over from nearby Curie Metro High School on the city’s southwest side.

* I asked Quinn’s office earlier for a comment on the strike…

We want the parties to negotiate in good faith and reach a resolution quickly that puts the students first.

*** UPDATE *** Raw audio of the governor, who said that the protesters expressing themselves “is what liberty is all about, it’s what our country is all about”…

Click to download

Quinn was interrupted briefly during his press conference by a person who was participating in the event. She pointed out that she works for the public school system and supports the striking teachers, and then said, “This memorial is for the fallen. This memorial is to educate our students.”

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:05 pm

Comments

“Dozens of striking Chicago teachers are protesting outside a Sept. 11 memorial event where Gov. Pat Quinn is speaking.”

Really a memorial event…

I am all in favor of entities giving Pat Quinn a hard time, but you could have picked a better place to give him some flack IMHO…

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:07 pm
I agree - how rude.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:08 pm
This is bad optics. 9/11 memorials should be respected. Give him heck on 9/10 and 9/12, but leave this day alone.

Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:17 pm
The CTU has no class.

(Ha!)

Comment by Brendan Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:20 pm
Disgusting behavior. 11 years ago I saw the Twin Towers burn. Gone to a lot of military funerals since then.

And these people teach our youth?

Comment by Last Bull Moose Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:20 pm
Ummmmmmmm, Guys you didn’t make any friends on this one, Stand down a bit today………

Comment by I'm Just Saying Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:20 pm
How obnoxious. This is a day to rise above your job demands, as important as they might be.

Comment by state worker Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:20 pm
Agree with the previous commenters. As a supporter of the teachers, I find it myopic and self-centered.

It is also not clear to me why Quinn needs to be taken to task for this. There was serious hope of a resolution on Sunday and on Day 1. This is Day 2.

Comment by Dan Bureaucrat Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:23 pm
Chicago…figures

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:25 pm
Despicable.

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:25 pm
Me, ME…look at MEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Oooooh, ooooh, ohhhh. Is that a camera over there?!!!!

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:29 pm
The CTU is trying to win the public relations battle by taking lessons from the misguided deluded ideas of Westboro. I’m sure there’s a funeral they could protest today as well.

Comment by Downstate Illinois Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 12:41 pm
Did they actually ‘protest’? Article says they sang Amazing Grace and held flags. If that is all they did (meaning leaving strike crap out of it) I could see it as more of in support of the memorial Quinn was entering.

Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:02 pm
The teachers sang “Amazing Grace” and held American flags — clearly in honor of those lost on 9/11.

Oh the Outrage! Oh the Rudeness!

Take a breath.

Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:03 pm
Well the AP is reporting they were picketing outside the event…

http://www.nwherald.com/2012/09/11/chicago-teachers-protest-outside-quinn-event/avkwcy1/

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:07 pm
Regardless the 59 news articles now out about the AP story with the word Protest in the leade isn’t going to do the CTU any favors.

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:09 pm
Another version is here…

http://www.cbs12.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/3049b995-www.cbs12.com.shtml

Seems like they were not just there to sing…

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:11 pm
Yeah…. they should’ve been smart enough to know not to picket that, of all things. Even if they did it nicely and did sing Amazing Grace, it’s just obviously waaaaaaaaaaaaay to easy to spin against them.

Comment by TJ Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:15 pm
Chicago teachers are protesting outside a Sept. 11 memorial event… stay classy CTU.

Comment by Ahoy! Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:17 pm
Only the CTU can make Quinn look sympathetic…..

Comment by PQ's Primary Opponent Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:18 pm
Well that was really stupid of them.

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:19 pm
It was inappropriate to protest during this event.

While at lunch today, I saw about a half dozen Chicago teachers exiting the restaurant. The striking teachers were wearing union issued red t-shirts. Many of the diners took a moment to compliment the teachers and said positive things to encourage the teachers.

Comment by Esquire Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:24 pm
By their actions, the teachers honor and celebrate the memories of those who died on 9/11 and everyone else who gave the last full measure of devotion for this country.

Nothing sticks it to anti-freedom, anti-American losers more than free people exercising their rights to assemble, speak and petition their government without fear.

Those rights have been hard-won, at a cost of much blood and treasure. The punks who hate us can squat in their caves on the Khyber Pass and only wonder at such an amazing display of freedom. They’ll never understand.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:24 pm
I’m no Quinn fan but I don’t care if it was Quinn, Obama, Romney, Bush whoever. If these few blockheads don’t have enough sense to respect a 9/11 memorial service I question their ability to teach children.

Comment by WazUp Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:45 pm
Very well said, wordslinger. But I bet the gut reactions of most Chicago voters would be that the teachers were wrong to protest during this event, so politically, it was foolish of the CTU to do so. Especially during a time that public opinion is being formed about their battle with the city.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:48 pm
Word,
Everything has a time and place.
It is one thing to have a right.
It is another to have the insight and emotional intelligence to know when to exercise that right.

Comment by Skeeter Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:49 pm
===But I bet the gut reactions of most Chicago voters===

How about sticking to your own reaction? We have scientific polls for the rest.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 1:50 pm
The problem is…I just don’t believe what ANY news outlet reports as simple fact anymore…so I don’t know what to believe on this…there could always be more to the story.

Comment by Sigh... Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 2:08 pm
Monday morning can be a great time to be the Quarterback. Somebody thought it was good idea at the time. Others see a lack of good judgment. Wordslinger has the right of it. Some feel freedom is a great idea if they are the only ones who can exercise it.
I think back to the time when the Dixie Chicks were almost exiled from Country Music for expressing an opinion on little Georgy Bush. Yet little Hank Jr. can lie about President Obama like a big dog and it’s kinda no big deal. Different points of view eh.

Comment by Bemused Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 2:22 pm
I don’t think anyone feels they don’t have the right to protest. Heck Rahm and Karen Lewis have the right to start calling each other names in public.

It does not mean it would be a bright idea.

I think anyone wouldn’t find this action to be a bit tone deaf.

I don’t think picketing at a memorial event (of any nature) is really the sort of move that will be a good one for any cause.

In all seriousness, would any of you have advised these folks to picket at a memorial event?

Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 2:46 pm
Word, you’re right, but that doesn’t mean you’re right…

What I mean is — freedom of speech and assembly are at the heart of what this country means. When we demonstrate publicly to bring attention to issues and concerns, we are showing the world the strength and resilience of this democracy.

But — if you’re watching television with the sound off, what you see is a group of teachers who apparently are using a solemn occasion to hijack cameras. So I think it was a bad idea. They would have been better off to hold their own Sept. 11 memorial, talking about what it means to be an American and the role that teachers play in promoting the fundamental principles of this democracy.

Comment by soccermom Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 3:02 pm
I was part of the strike this morning, and we had no idea he was there for a memorial. A few minutes after we were told, and some teachers realized, we set ourselves on the sides of the sidewalk to not disturb people, the musicality group of the school sang amazing grace, we lowered our signs, and we were quiet until Pat Quinn finished giving his speech and drove away.
I do not believe that’s disrespectful, and I know for a fact that my teachers are not greedy, nor deserve to be fired. A french teacher today was there with her 5 month baby and changed him on the grass outside of school. Our teachers also parents, and their kids are also in CPS, they also have to deal with daycare. SO MANY teachers did not want to go on strike, a favorite of mine was told that the decision to let her buy her house would depend on the end of the strike and how long it lasted. Teachers are also risking a lot.
The strike that’s happening is a last means of fighting, of letting them know that they cannot step all over CTU, we’re fighting for respect, and treatment they deserve.
It’s not just about payment… talk to a teacher, try to be in their shoes. The media portrays every strike or summit or anything poorly, don’t buy into their twisted messages.
Teachers are our educators and in CPS they go above and beyond, they stay after school for students, they give up their lunch period to help out a student, some teachers even pay for their student supplies.
Thousands of teachers did not just decide one day that they were going to on strike, and not teach their students, it was something developed over time. They’re still waking up at 5 in the morning and going to school, they’re still teaching us, they’re teaching us to stand up for what we believe in and be part of something greater. To BE part of something and help each other out. These are life lessons that are worth more than what 2+2 is.

Comment by Abigail Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 3:33 pm
Soccermom is right on here. The basic , visceral reaction of mine is that this is the wrong place and wrong time for this type of ” demonstration” against PQ. And by the way, there are some out here who think the teachers are NOT in the right here with their strike..

Comment by Mr.Big Trouble Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 3:56 pm
I was driving around Chicago yesterday and downtown later during the CTU rally. The teachers are getting huge support from passerbys and the public. There is a lot of anti Rahm feeling, and a lot of sympathy from other working people.

Comment by Elder Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 5:29 pm
I think there was some anti-Rahm sentiment in teh white house -that is how Chicago got stuck with him

Comment by western illinois Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 5:36 pm
For what it’s worth….

On September 10, 2001, the White Sox flew from Cleveland to New York, checking into their Midtown hotel in the wee hours of September 11 in anticpation of a three-game tilt against the Yankees.

They never played.

On September 18, 2011, I was at Cominskey Park, Bridgeport, South Side, Chicago, Illinois, for the first game in the city after the troubles.

White Sox. Yankees. Bridgeport.

Coppers and firemen in dress uniform stood at attention down the foul lines. Everyone sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America” — with feeling.

When the Yankees were announced, everyone in Cominskey rose to their feet and roared so loud you could hear it at Wrigley.

We were waving flags, holding up “We Love NY” and “We Got Your Back NYC” signs and letting the world know that if you mess with New York, you’re going to have to deal with Chicago.

You live long enough, you’ll see everything, daddio. I cried like a baby.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 7:38 pm
Some people look outside and see a sacred cow, others see a future baconater with cheese. Which concept is more popular depends on location.

9/11 was a tragedy and in my opinion gave us reason to go into Afganistan. Some of the things 9/11 was used to justify after that I have some issues with.

My biggest problem with it all is it did not have to happen. Aircraft had already been highjacked and they knew highjackers were thinking of crashing planes. They knew how to prevent it but the airlines convinced the powers that be the cost was too high. They just could not give up the revenue from a single seat to have an armed agent onboard. Boxknives against pistol means they lose. What was the dollar cost of what happened against those airline seat costs. Yes I am aware I am now the Monday Morning QB but we did not get caught with our pants down we got caught with our bank book in our hand. So on this day along with remembering the heroes I get a little toasty about what happened. Also what agenda is being advanced when this is made a sacred cow.

Comment by Bemused Tuesday, Sep 11, 12 @ 10:02 pm