Chicago teachers continue strike; mayor plans legal action to end it

September 17, 2012 at 12:42a.m.

Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Sunday that he will go to court to force an end to the Chicago teachers strike, which begins its second week today.

“I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union,” Emanuel said in a written statement. “This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children. Every day our kids are kept out of school is one more day we fail in our mission: to ensure that every child in every community has an education that matches their potential.”

Earlier Sunday, the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates refused to end the strike. Union President Karen Lewis said that the delegates could vote Tuesday to end the strike, meaning that classes could resume Wednesday.

Members wanted more time to digest the details of a contract offer, Lewis said.

“They’re not happy with the agreement. They’d like it to be a lot better for us than it is,” Lewis said.

The potential for 120 school closings in the coming years also has caused concern.