In Chicago, Rahm Emanuel is in a showdown against teachers

Peter Slevin:

Rahm Emanuel is not big on ambiguity. He was thrilled, a few days before he took office last year, when the Illinois House voted 112 to 1 for a school improvement package that, among other things, made it harder for teachers unions to call strikes.

A "historic day of opportunity for kids in the city of Chicago," he said after the vote. Rank-and-file teachers were less pleased, particularly when an Emanuel ally boasted, "The unions cannot strike in Chicago."

Teachers are now on strike in Chicago-- loudly and enthusiastically -- and Emanuel (D) finds himself in a far more pointed and public battle than he had bargained for. Under a national spotlight, his famous dealmaking skills are being severely tested by an increasingly familiar set of schoolhouse issues seen in communities across the country as contentious and often personal.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 14, 2012 2:49 AM
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