Teachers union has triple the public support of Emanuel
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. (Terrence Antonio James and Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune)
ree times as many Chicagoans side with the teachers union as with Mayor Rahm Emanuel on how to improve public schools at a time when the two sides remain locked in contentious contract negotiations, a Chicago Tribune poll has found.
The survey also found that Emanuel's approval rating on education has fallen to a record low as the mayor and Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool are slashing budgets and cutting jobs in the face of the latest massive budget shortfall. Voters' displeasure with the mayor's handling of education tracks with the similarly low marks they gave Emanuel on his overall job performance and handling of crime.
As CPS has faced surging pension costs and a plummeting credit rating — the district borrowed $725 million Wednesday at an extraordinarily high interest rate to stay afloat this year — Emanuel has sought budget relief from the state. Those efforts, however, have been caught up in the Springfield stalemate. And now Gov. Bruce Rauner is calling for a state takeover of CPS and suggesting the district file for bankruptcy.
Amid all that, Emanuel offered a new contract that would have provided teachers with modest raises while requiring them to pay more toward their health care and pensions. A union bargaining team unanimously rejected it.
The poll found that 60 percent of Chicagoans said they side with the Chicago Teachers Union over improving schools while 20 percent backed Emanuel. Another 12 percent sided with neither, while 7 percent had no opinion.
City voters have never sided with Emanuel over the teachers union since the Tribune began polling on the issue in May 2012. The latest numbers are close to the previous high of 62 percent that sided with the teachers union in an August 2014 survey conducted as Emanuel prepared to run for a second term.
The union has sought to capitalize on the mayor's weakened public support after theLaquan McDonald police shooting scandal led to weeks of street protests, calls for Emanuel's resignation and a federal civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department. Last month the teachers union formally called for Emanuel to resign, proclaiming "the leadership of Rahm Emanuel contributed to the shocking and inexcusable murder of Laquan McDonald."
In mid-December the union said 88 percent of its membership voted to go on strike if an Teachers union has triple the public support of Emanuel - Chicago Tribune: