- Mayor Rahm Emanuel bore the brunt of criticism from angry teachers who filled the Auditorium Theatre on Wednesday to make clear their unhappiness with the administration's efforts to overhaul public education in Chicago.
The crowd of nearly 4,000 teachers, almost all wearing red union T-shirts, erupted in shouts of "fight" and "strike" when Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis asked rhetorically, "So why are we here?"
[...] Outside the theater, a crowd of about 1,000, teachers, parents and members of other unions gathered in Congress Plaza chanting, "Stand up. Fight back." - "Chicago teachers deserve a pay raise," Emanuel said. "They work very hard. They deserve a pay raise. Chicago school children do not deserve a strike. We are working with an independent arbitrator to ensure that we achieve both of those goals, and we're committed to that process."
But inside the Auditorium, teachers angry about being forced to work a longer day without additional compensation booed loudly whenever Emanuel's name was mentioned. Lewis again told the story of how the mayor "cussed her out" when she questioned him over his proposal for a longer day last fall.
The Bike Unit was nearby to go hands on with the teachers if it got out of control.
We're kidding, but we'd make sure parents take into consideration the fact that schools might not start on time this year.