UPDATE: To absolutely nobody’s surprise + ChiTrib readers are not happy with biased anti-CTU election coverage. | Fred Klonsky

ChiTrib readers are not happy with biased anti-CTU election coverage. | Fred Klonsky:

The in box. Dear Cinda.

by Fred Klonsky

Fred,
I wrote the following letter to the IEA, but it came back as undeliverable. Could you get it to them?
Dear Ms.Klickna,
Whenever my union negotiated a contract for my high school district, it always had the courtesy to not only meet with and present it to the staff, but it permited the staff to vote on said contract. Not 

To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the Illinois Senate passes the Cullerton/We Are One bill.

by Fred Klonsky

In case some of my good friends and colleagues who actually made phone calls to their Senators over the last two days thought the outcome was in doubt, they can relax now.
The Senate passed the Cullerton/We Are One pension cutting bill by a vote of 40-16.
The reality was that the phone calls were irrelevant. The vote was solid, the outcome determined, the moment Democratic Party Senate President John Cullerton presented the deal. It was a sure bet the minute our union leaders agreed he could circumvent the state’s pension protection clause.
In Illinois, back room deals like that are as good as gold.
Citizen participation is not part of the equation.
And handshake at a corner table at Saputo’s around the corner from the state Capitol is worth more than the 

ChiTrib readers are not happy with biased anti-CTU election coverage.

by Fred Klonsky

Chicago Tribune cartoon of CTU President Karen Lewis.
Chicago Tribune:

Union business
This is in response to “My challenge to Karen Lewis” (Perspective, April 26), by Tanya Saunders-Wolffe, a counselor at Jesse Owens Community Academy on the Far South Side. Why is the Chicago Tribune newspaper a venue for proselytizing Saunders-Wolffe’s contention for the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union? Do other unions try to convince the public of their need for a change in leadership, and to whom does a newspaper give such an airing? Why should the public, most of whom do not belong to my union, be involved in our election — unless Saunders-Wolffe and the Coalition to Save Our Union are getting support through publishing their platform and grievances through her advertisement?
The Coalition to Save Our Union got major media play months ago as Debbie Lynch introduced the opposition to the current leadership. Karen Lewis launched her campaign in public recently. Barely a major outlet noticed.
Saunders-Wolffe has the right to opine as a citizen about any issue she wishes. The Tribune publishes what it wants. I call into question why the interests that run the paper have published her