Election 2015: The movement that changed Chicago’s political landscape
BY CTU COMMUNICATIONS | 04/07/2015
CHICAGO—For the first time in 20 years, Chicagoans had the opportunity to engage in an extended political debate regarding the city’s future, which created a massive coalition of labor, community organizations, social justice activists, clergy and people of all ethnic backgrounds and from all of Chicago’s neighborhoods. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is both proud and honored to be one of the organizations contributing to what was not only a mayoral campaign for Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, but a landmark moment for a progressive, democratic movement that is only going to grow larger and more powerful in Chicago politics.
Although Mayor Rahm Emanuel won a hard-fought re-election campaign, it came only after surviving the first run-off in Chicago’s history. The fact that a number of incumbent aldermen lost Tuesday night and all Progressive Caucus candidates won re-election despite the mayor's efforts to discharge them demonstrates the dissatisfaction and anger felt by countless Chicagoans. Emanuel was able to win re-election by promising to change his approach and be more responsive to the needs of every day residents of our city. If the mayor is truly repentant for his past policy transgressions, this will allow for more substantive contract negotiations between the CTU and the Chicago Board of Education, and transparent discussions about the type of neighborhoods, schools and public services that Chicago’s students and their families deserve.
“This was not just about one election—it was about a movement created by people who have felt relegated to the sidelines for far too long,” said CTU President Karen Lewis. “This coalition of individuals and their values and ideas that united around Chuy and our candidates for alderman is going to be a force in Chicago politics for generations to come.”
The day after the mayor closed a record 50 neighborhood schools in 2013, President Lewis said the CTU had three objectives: register 100,000 new voters, run CTU candidates for political office and change the political landscape of the city. The Union has accomplished each of these goals, but still has much work to do for the 20,000 homeless students in our district, a growing epidemic of overcrowded classrooms, and 200 schools without libraries. Our ongoing contract negotiations will bring these and many other issues to the fore, and we hope that the mayor and his administration will respect the work of Chicago public school educators and education support staff, who desire only the best for Chicago’s students and their families.
We congratulate Chuy Garcia for carrying the torch and providing a voice for the thousands of Chicagoans who have been marginalized by failed policies of both current and past mayoral administrations. Through Chuy’s campaign, Chicagoans have seen what is possible if we challenge the status quo. We have debated a number of issues in all parts of the city; a number of first-time aldermen will be sworn in as new members of the Chicago City Council and many of them have committed to joining the Progressive Caucus; and the people of Chicago have gained the positioning and the right to protest and have a greater understanding of the power of their collective voice.
“The mayor didn’t win the run-off election in as much as he survived it,” said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey. “But we believe that if he is sincere about owning his faults, and listening to the voices of average, working Chicagoans, those sentiments expressed in his television ads won’t just be conciliatory, they will be needed to move this city forward.”Chicago Teachers Union | Election 2015: The movement that changed Chicago’s political landscape:
