Updated:

The Chicago pension struggle and beyond

By
1215
0

Latest

pt.2015.07.08.pension2
Teachers protest for a fair contract and a just Chicago.
Photo/Sarah Jane Rhee

CHICAGO, IL — Illinois, and particularly Chicago, are notorious for their brazen addiction to wealth, corruption and waste. Meanwhile, there are now over 20,000 homeless students in Chicago Public Schools.  Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimates that around 12,000 young people living on their own are on Chicago’s streets.  Alongside this, Forbes lists 18 billionaires from Chicago, headed by the Crown family, with $4.1 billion.
The Chicago Public School board, run by billionaire bankers, is militarizing and demolishing public education and privatizing everything in sight.  In the new hi-tech economy, the billionaire class needs fewer workers, and they won’t educate people they don’t need.  Breaking the teachers’ union and funneling pension money into their own pockets illustrates the end of their need for a stable workforce. The pension struggle is a key front in the struggle for the kind of society that can provide for all.

+ Articles by this author

The People’s Tribune opens its pages to voices of the movement for change. Our articles are written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Articles entitled “From the Editors” reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement for change. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff. The People’s Tribune is a 501C4 organization.

Featured

Maureen Taylor, Michigan Welfare Rights -

Progressives? Conservatives? Left? Right? Who Do They All Represent?

The billionare class paints the economy as very good based on rising stock market episodes that don’t filter down to most blue-collar people. Let’s concentrate our efforts on those fighting for the needs of the many.
Indira Treon-Mutuma -

A Somali Perspective on Life in Minnesota

The words “Nobody wants you here,” may have been directed at one Somali family, but they do not define Minnesota’s Somali community. By listening to the voices of Somalis themselves, a different story emerges, one of belonging, resilience, and community.
Alexandria McKenzie -

50 Years Later: The Man Who Refused to Let Allensworth Disappear

While a historical site cannot bring back the haven of possibility that the town of Allensworth in the state of California once was, its presence forces a reckoning for anyone it reaches — a ceaseless act of resistance in itself.
From the Editors, People's Tribune -

ICE Killings Are Increasing, But So is the Resistance

If we allow ICE, as a servant of the powerful, to kill or deport our working class sisters and brothers then we are not only immoral, we’re setting ourselves up to be next in line for the detention centers.
From the Editors, People's Tribune -

Message to Congressional Black Caucus On Endorsement of AIPAC Funded Candidate

The Black vote is key to winning Democratic Party elections. Today, in MI and nationwide, African Americans are expressing abandonment by a Party that funds candidates who do not represent their interests, as seen in Michigan’s Senate race.

More from the People's Tribune