Chicago Teachers Union Holds Sit-In At City Hall

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jan 4, 2012 11:40PM

The Chicago Teachers Union held a sit-in at City Hall today to protest the mayor's plan to close a number of Chicago Public Schools. The groups are focused on lobbying for the schools in the mid-south region of the city. They say the closings are concentrated on the South Side, as they often are, as this map demonstrates. On the CTU website it states:

[The protesters] are participating in a sit-in outside the Mayor’s office demanding a meeting with the mayor to discuss the plan to turnaround, close, and consolidate schools in the mid-south region.

Watch video from the group's rally below. A number of community activists and groups supporting the CTU organized the protest. Crain's writes that the event isn't officially sponsored by the CTU, but the organizations are part of the board and they supported the event through social media, as you can see above. The group is doing what they had promised last month if the mayor's office continued to deny their request for a meeting. Progress Illinois writes:

During a protest December 19 at City Hall, members of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization threatened a sit-in of Rahm Emanuel’s office if they failed to get word of a scheduled meeting with the mayor. The teachers union also protested December 23 outside eight schools slated for turnaround or closure.

Parents, teachers, and community leaders hold sit in at City Hall from Chicago Teachers Union on Vimeo.