Chicago City Wire

AWAKE Illinois members fail to see the logic in a list of demands made by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) that would set the stage for nearly 4,200 new hires before Chicago public schools reopen their doors this fall.

 “Restorative justice coordinator,” the group posted on Twitter about one of the posts union leaders are seeking to have filled. “That’ll do it.”

Union leaders are seeking to add 4,190 new workers over the next several weeks to accommodate the return of in-person learning.

Critics charge the demands not only virtually ignore school guidance recommendations from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention but also stand to be a further strain on already overburdened taxpayers at a time when they can least afford it.

With additional funding being sought in the areas of mental health, special education and art, union leaders are pushing for an additional counselor, social worker, restorative justice coordinator, nurse and librarian in each of the 638 Chicago public schools. In addition, schools are also being pushed to fund rent assistance for families and to add “500 CPS parent/community members to perform home visits to educate families about COVID-19 vaccine availability.”

Despite the Centers for Disease Control and state guidelines asserting that students should be able to remove their masks while indoors, CTU is also demanding that all students being masked while indoors and to have their temperatures checked prior to be allowed to enter the building.

The union is demanding that at least four of every five students be vaccinated by Oct. 1. It also wants 80% of students younger than 12 vaccinated within 60 days of a COVID-19 shot being approved for that age group.