Electoral battle moves to the wards, as Karen Lewis withdraws

Andy Willis, Leslie Willis, Allen Harris and Lew Rosenbaum contributed to the articles on this page.
CHICAGO, IL — We have written in these pages about the anger in Chicago’s communities that sought relief through the channels of reform and only found deaf ears in the chambers of city government.  In particular, the promise of universal, fully funded, quality education is being jerked away.  Already struggling for the means of survival, now the people of Chicago are losing hope for the future of their children. With city elections coming up in February, many of these “dispossessed”—parents, teachers, community activists— are taking to the streets with a different agenda: challenging the city council puppets of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
A Facebook page for Progressive Aldermanic Candidates of Chicago (PACC)  promotes a common platform and seven prospective candidates.  They come from a variety of backgrounds and parts of the city. For example, Denice Davis, chief of staff for former alderman Schiller, is running in the North Side, 46th Ward; mother and education activist Zerlina Smith in the West Side 29th ward; and  PhD candidate Byron Sigcho, in the 25th ward, the Pilsen neighborhood.  There are far more challengers to the incumbent alderpuppets than we can include here.  Look in the January and February, 2014  issues of the People’s Tribune for more coverage.
PACC position on the issues in this campaign: Elected School Board; Re-Entry Programs; Raise the Minimum Wage; Stop School Actions; Affordable Housing; Abolishing TIFs; No Standardized Testing; Developing Infrastructure to Provide Jobs; Restoring Cuts in Social Services; Development without Displacement; Stop the Outsourcing of City Services
As we prepared this article for publication, Karen Lewis, Chicago Teachers Union president underwent emergency surgery for a malignant brain tumor. She will be undergoing chemotherapy while she recovers. The union Vice-President, Jesse Sharkey, is taking over her union responsibilities for the time being. She has withdrawn from the race against Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and has endorsed County Commissioner Jesus (Chuy) Garcia for that office.  A shock to her loyal supporters, this situation nevertheless reinforces what Lewis had pointed out in her exploratory meetings: this is not a campaign for a single candidate but an opportunity to build a movement. One of the questions confronting this movement, as it engages in both mayoral and city council campaigns, is how clearly the movement will break free from the Democratic Party stranglehold.