Chicago City Wire

Paul Vallas, policy advisor for IllinoisPolicy.org, said the Chicago Teacher’s Union’s contract negotiation proposals are all moving towards having “more members, higher pay, less work, less accountability, and less school choice.”

 “Clearly the district has been losing enrollment in dramatic numbers. And plus the Union support for Sanctuary cities and unlimited migration,” said Vallas on a recent edition of the Chicago Morning Answer show. “I think this is part of their effort to capture that constituency and to fill the school district’s ranks,” he said about the CTU’s proposed $2000 newcomer package for asylum seeker students. 

“I think half the schools are far from their enrollment levels and larger schools have only a small percentage of their seats filled. So clearly they’re embracing the sanctuary city concept; it’s a way to increase their enrollment after losing enrollment for about twenty consecutive years,” said Vallas. “ This contract is really all about more members, higher pay, less work, less accountability, and less school choice. That’s the bottom line, that’s what they want, and that’s ultimately where they’re going to end up.”

Paul Vallas is a former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Before he was appointed to CPS, he served as Chicago city revenue director and Chicago city budget director. He previously ran as a candidate for Chicago mayor, and was defeated by current mayor Brandon Johnson. 

Dan Proft is the host of “Chicago’s Morning Answer” weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on AM 560 Chicago. A former Republican candidate for Illinois Governor, Proft attended Northwestern University and received his J.D. from Loyola University-Chicago.