Here’s your say on Karen Lewis

At least my correspondents are civil.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis gets vile letters from her critics. Last week, I wrote about Lewis’ mission to unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel and conquer obesity. Readers weighed in. Most were polite — but no fans of Lewis.

Here’s a sampling of the responses, edited for space:

◆ “The popular wisdom in the press is that the Rahmfather got rolled by Ms. Lewis in the discussions and strike settlement,” wrote Mark Olson of Westmont. “Many [teachers] still, as told to me by some, put money out of their pockets to buy supplies that there is no budget to buy; many spend a good deal of time over and above — just to help meet basic needs. If the teachers won so much, why is that still much too common in the CPS school system? The Rahms and Lewises need to put aside the power plays and political gotchas and the rest of the IL nonsense and simply put those precious kids first — just once.”

◆ “It is people like Lewis that have brainwashed many minorities and lower income Chicagoans into believing that the way to move ahead is through more taxation,” argues Lawrence Oliver, a longtime Chicago watcher who lives in Georgetown Township, Michigan. “This is the same road that led to the downfall of Detroit. Taxation in today’s economy will only result in more businesses leaving Chicago and Illinois and moving to more business friendly states. No companies, no expansion, no job, no income?”

CONTINUE READING AT SUNTIMES.COM