By John Ubaldi, “Ubaldi Reports”

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the Chicago Teachers Union has repeated the moniker they are all about the safety of its members but especially the safety of the children they instruct, but is this true or is this just a mere fallacy?

Ever since the emergence of the coronavirus in 2020 that had a serious and devastating impact on U.S. education, the Chicago Teachers Union exploited this pandemic by pushing for more and more concessions after concessions for its members to return to the classroom.

In 2020, the Chicago Teachers Union gave its official reason for not wanting to re-open schools.  The union wanted the city to produce a plan which would “guarantee’s safety” for all students and staff from the effects of the coronavirus outbreak no matter how long it takes.

“We stand for a safe and equitable reopening of the schools, but today COVID-19 cases are soaring instead of dissipating,” Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement Wednesday. “There is simply no way to guarantee safety for in-school learning during an out-of-control pandemic – and that means we must revert to remote learning until the spread of this virus is contained.”

Chicago teachers union issued a 10-page document stipulating its own proposals for safely opening up the schools.

The teachers union’s proposal was heavily framed around an anti-free market economy, pro-progressive, that focuses on the disenfranchisement of people of color which if the schools are to re-open the would want;

  • A full federal bailout of billions of dollars this year and the years to come.
  • Fully fund Title I spending.
  • Fully fund Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • Medicare for All.
  • Additional state support of Illinois.
  • The state of Illinois to pass a fair tax.
  • Defund the police.
  • Retire TIF districts: Retiring just seven tax increment financing districts in or around downtown and returning their tax base to Chicago Public Schools.
  • Housing security, by safe and reliable home for those without one.
  • Paid sick leave for all parents of children.
  • Financial support for all illegal alien children and their families.

Even now as the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus ravaged the U.S., the Chicago Teachers Union refused to have its members return to the classroom, even a poll of its members found that over 90% wanted to remain out of the classroom.

As in 2020, the union issued various demands to return to the classroom, and eventually the city and the union came to an understanding for its members to return to the classroom.

The question that should be asked is what has the Chicago Unified School District do with the over $1 billion in funding it received during the Covid federal economic packages that were sent out?

As the Chicago Teachers Union who claim to be about what’s best for the children they instruct, but has anyone looked at the educational achievement of students in the Chicago Unified School district, which is the nation’s third largest?

The Chicago Unified School District is a fiscal disaster even before the coronavirus, from which it’s facing an $8.4 billion debt.  The debt level of the district disproportionally impacts over 70% of black and Hispanic children who attend the district schools, with the same percentage of children deficient at grade level in math and English.

The city of Chicago which has been in the news lately for the carnage of crime but the city hasn’t had a Republican mayor since 1931.  According to Illinois Policy Think Tank in 2015 around 70% of all black and Hispanic children in the Chicago Unified School system are not proficient to grade level in math and English, and this hasn’t changed in the years since.

This sorry state doesn’t end here, in September 2019, the U.S. Department of Education (Department), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a disturbing report highlighting that close to 500 young girls over a ten year period were sexually assaulted, abused and harassed inside the Chicago Unified School District.  Many of the victims of alleged abuses were black and Hispanic children. Where was the outrage? Where was the media coverage? How come Democratic leaders aren’t asked about any of this when they have solidly controlled city governance for decades?

Even after this report was released, in 2020, Camie Pratt, CPS’ Chief Title IX Officer, stated at a monthly school board meeting in February that there has been a 29% increase in reported sexual misconduct cases this year compared to last. What happened to the civil rights of these students? Why has this continued?

Why hasn’t the media focused on any of these issues or asked the President of the Chicago Teachers Union any of these questions?

Maybe it’s time that we did!