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CTU helped write letter that stopped House’s bill shielding selective enrollment schools

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Illinois

* Chicago Tribune…

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s letter to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon last month vowing not to shut down selective enrollment schools was directly edited by a Chicago Teachers Union lobbyist — and was preceded by an earlier version that made no such promise, the Tribune has learned.

During the waning days of the latest Springfield session, the mayor made a last-minute plea to Harmon in a letter asking him to not call for a vote the bill to extend a moratorium on all Chicago Public Schools closings. That capped off a weekslong power struggle between the CTU, which also opposed the legislation, and state legislators who wanted to ink the two-year extension to ensure selective enrollment schools would not be shuttered.

Harmon pointed to Johnson’s promise in the late May letter as evidence of the trust between the two officials, saying the mayor’s “commitment to me is even more clear and more binding than the bill would have been.”

But public records provided to the Tribune reveal a CTU official helped craft the eleventh-hour letter that likely saved the teachers union and Johnson from an embarrassing defeat in the statehouse, as well as an earlier, watered-down version.

I had heard that the first letter Johnson sent to Harmon was long on rhetoric and short on promises. The second letter was far more specific. So, while highly unusual, the CTU input may have actually helped the mayor’s cause with Harmon.

Go read the rest. Interesting piece.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 4:02 pm

Comments

“was long on rhetoric and short on promise”

Sounds familiar…

Definitely doesn’t help the Mayor’s case that the 5th floor isn’t run by the CTU.

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 4:20 pm
CTU not only has a seat at the table: they are the table. That’s what the voters vote for.

Comment by Steve Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 4:44 pm
===So, while highly unusual, the CTU input may have actually helped the mayor’s cause with Harmon.===

It sounds like CTU wrote both versions.

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 4:46 pm
Mayors office successfully works with ally on shared position. What a story.

Comment by Cornfield Progressive Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 5:00 pm
The demands and the negotiations on the new teachers union contract will be interesting

Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 5:02 pm
Nice. Another confirmation SDG has major sway on the 5th floor.

Comment by Rahm’s Parking Meter Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 5:02 pm
I’d love to see a FOIA on all the emails between the CTU and the Mayor’s Office. Unfortunately there are so many it is too difficult to compile them all.

Comment by Just Me 2 Thursday, Jun 27, 24 @ 6:11 pm