Governor Quinn is silent but his hands are dirty.
September 18, 2012
Progress Illinois, the SEIU website, reports that Pat Quinn has been silent during the strike except for a few non-statements about being “for the kids.”
But his hands are quite dirty in all of this.
The teachers’ strike is often framed as a clash of two colorful personalities: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTU President Karen Lewis. But as Progress Illinois has examined, it was the mild-mannered Quinn that signed in 2010 the Performance Evaluation and Reform Act before Emanuel was mayor and Lewis took over CTU. That measure drove the dispute over teacher evaluations and SB7, which Quinn signed into law one year later, and enabled Emanuel to push for a longer school day. The law also established a new Chicago teachers collective bargaining process.
The governor is no stranger to battling public employees unions, including CTU affiliate the Illinois Federation of Teachers, over proposed cuts in state worker pensions.
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All their hands are dirty. The Democratic party has been blown to pieces with this strike. Deservedly so.
Well Fred, just another of the many sins visited on us by the Governor. Next we get a hail of fire and toads falling from the sky. Voting for any current office holder is just a vote to continue the assault on all workers. We need to clean the slate. The idea that some are not as bad as others is futile logic. Time to remove them all no matter what they promise. Promise of this election season will turn into the lies and excuses in the next legislative session. PS Great coverage of the real issues during the strike. GO CTU!!!!