A thread of optimism
ran through Thursday, the fourth day of the Chicago teachers’ strike,
as both the union and the school board hinted that a deal could be
reached by Friday, with a possibility of children heading back to school
as early as Monday.
That optimism also extended to yet another downtown
rally that brought an estimated 3,000 picketing teachers and supporters
outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel at 151 E. Wacker late Thursday
afternoon.
Later, the group, lead by a marching band from Morgan
Park High School, rallied at a park near Congress Parkway and Michigan
Avenue.
There, speakers railed against Chicago School Board member Penny Pritzker, who they say received $5.2 million in TIF – tax increment financing
– dollars for a Hyde Park Hotel. The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt
Hotel chain. Recently, a group of Chicago teachers called for Penny
Pritzker to step down from the school board.
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Energy was high outside the Chicago Board of Education meeting
Wednesday morning as education activists, union members, teachers,
students and parents gathered in anticipation of a vote that could close
a staggering amount of schools across the Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
district. 
Parents and members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) stormed the
steps outside the Academy of Urban School Leadership’s (AUSL) office
Thursday and raised concerns over the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) plan to
turnaround six schools at the end of the academic year.
Lewis Elementary