The 12 members of the city’s Latino Caucus are urging Mayor Lori Lightfoot to accede Chicago Teachers Union demands and end the strike.
In a statement, the group said they met Tuesday with leadership from both the CTU and Chicago Public Schools. The caucus noted that Latino students represent 47% of students in CPS.
In the group’s opinion, the two sides are very close to a deal.
“CTU has compromised on many issues while maintaining the integrity of their core educational demands to improve our public schools by lowering class size and increasing support staff,” the caucus’ statement read. “We believe that classes can start tomorrow if CPS agrees to the compromise proposal.”
The statement did not say what issues CTU had compromised on.
The union has said its remaining demands would cost $38 million annually to implement, while CPS says it will cost $100 million. Neither side has released details on how they arrived at those figures.
The caucus includes Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10th), the first CTU member ever elected to City Council. It also includes Alds Daniel LaSpata (1st), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (10th), and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), all members of the council Socialist Caucus who have already come out in favor of the strike.
