Chicago City Wire

The Chicago Teachers Union won another critic in gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan after voting to return to remote-learning only.

Seventy-three percent of union members voted to return to online-only learning after which school officials closed schools on Wednesday.

“I am deeply disturbed that the Chicago Teachers Union has once again overridden the preferences of most parents to force children into remote learning,” gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan said.

He noted the union is hindering children's education.

“CTU is unnecessarily disrupting the development of our children and the lives of our families in a way that makes everyone less safe,” he said.  

The school system is the country’s third largest. Its 638 schools serve more than 340,000 students.

CTU slowed the return to in-person teaching, leaving students out of classrooms for 13 months. Over that time students across the system have recorded diminishing student achievement scores.

Sullivan, a tech entrepreneur who was born and raised in Petersburg in downstate Menard County, said the issue is of statewide importance.

“Whether or not you live in Chicago, this is a massive problem. It is the direct result of a governor who continues to prioritize his own political interests over the needs of working people in our state,” he said.  

Sullivan bemoaned the close ties between the Pritzker administration and union interests.

"Last year, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 2275, giving the teachers union more power than virtually every government union in the nation, allowing them to bargain over everything from class schedules to hours and places of instruction,” he said. “It was just another example of how Pritzker was willing to sacrifice the best interests of our children for his own political gain.”

CTU officials noted members were mulling a work action in late December including a return to remote learning.

At the time, of the system’s 21,000 teachers 91 percent favored an online-only approach.

As part of his campaign, Sullivan is advocating for “school choice” in which private schools receive benefits. Chicago Public Schools noted a steep decline in students enrollment, having lost 10,000 students in 2021.

Under Sullivan’s plan students who no longer want to attend public schools would be able to take some funding with them for an education elsewhere.

“The solution is to give parents a say over how their childrens’ education dollars are spent - that is why I fully support school choice and as your governor will make sure that no one prevents your children from getting the education they deserve,” he said.