Chicago Faith Leaders Show Support For CPS Teachers Hesitant To Return To Class Because Of COVID
They say the pressure on teachers to return to classrooms is heartbreaking.
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They say the pressure on teachers to return to classrooms is heartbreaking.
Parents and teachers in the 25th Ward are calling the CPS reopening plan poorly conceived. One parent said it's even affecting her son's remote learning.
CPS confirmed the letter, but said the school sent it without district approval.
Imagine starting your morning with a profanity-laced message the second you log on to your computer. A Chicago mother said her son experiences that when he starts virtual class.
A letter addressed to teachers and staff at a Chicago public school warned that classrooms might not have an air purifier.
CPS in-person learning for kindergarten through eight grade students is set to resume on February 1.
The Chicago Public Schools on Monday said 145 school employees were classified as "absent without leave" as in-person classes for some students resumed.
Monday brought a controversial return to the classroom for some Chicago Public Schools students. It was the first day of in-person learning since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Illinois state lawmakers have approved legislation that could throw a wrench in Chicago Public Schools' reopening plans, lifting limits on the Chicago Teachers Union's bargaining rights, which could force the district to negotiate with the union over the phased return to in-person classes.
Pre-kindergarten and some special education classes are set to resume in person.
A group of parents on Sunday called out Mayor Lori Lightfoot on a campaign promise.
The Chicago Public Schools will resume some in-person classes on Monday, but it remained unclear whether teachers will actually show up.
There is a renewed push to get the State of Illinois back open as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools leaders said the district remains committed to reopening some schools on Monday, and warned that teachers and staff who are required to be in school but aren't will be considered AWOL and not eligible for pay.
"We have put in, as a last resort, some of those same structures that hospital are using when there is overflow."
CPS CEO Doctor Janice Jackson said many CPS parents are essential workers, and don't have the option of staying home and supporting remote learning.
Both the teachers union and Chicago Public Schools held press conferences Tuesday morning, in what is becoming a showdown over remote versus in-person learning.
The Chicago Teachers Union is one step closer to a strike vote over what they call the unsafe return to school buildings.
"The fear of losing our jobs is real. Many of us are the sole income earners in our homes, but the threat of this virus is greater than that fear," teacher Lori Torres said.
The Chicago Teachers Union on Sunday said a substantial number of teachers will not be returning to in-person work on Monday on the grounds that schools are unsafe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, CPS officials said they've been talking to CTU since November 1, but the union has not provided any specific proposal to improve the district's current plan.
A majority of Chicago parents say they are keeping their children at home as Chicago Public Schools plans to head back to the classroom in a matter of weeks.
A CPS spokesperson said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the district has followed the best available guidance from experts and scientists.
"We are highly incentivized to make sure that everyone in the school community – including teachers – are safe," Lightfoot said.
Deadlines and demands were issued Monday with regard to the return to in-person classes for Chicago Public Schools students.
Genomic analysis showed the virus found aboard the MV Hondius shows no evidence of new characteristics so far.
A burglary suspect was taken into custody after allegedly stealing a Cook County Sheriff's car on Saturday morning.
A man was charged with attempted murder after a stabbing and battery at a hotel in McHenry, Illinois, early Saturday morning.
Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases.
North Side neighborhoods are kicking off Chicago's summer festival season this weekend.
In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls squared off Thursday over which candidate can flip Iowa's open Republican-held Senate seat, as millions in outside spending reshapes the primary's final stretch.
Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin say their concern is there may be more emergency exit doors than flight attendants in the event of an evacuation.
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is suing the city of Chicago, its inspector general's office, and the Board of Ethics, accusing them of defamation.
The Supreme Court has maintained mail access to the abortion pill mifepristone, setting aside for now a lower court order that blocked abortion providers from prescribing the widely used drug through telehealth and shipping it to patients.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Chicago gas prices are spiking as the war with Iran drags on, with regular gas nearing $6 in some spots and premium already selling for more than $7 in some places.
In the legal venue of anti-trust enforcement, the state is not taking on the Trump administration, but rather filling a void that state officials say the Trump administration has vacated.
Engineers at Northwestern University have created a wireless polygraph to detect stress.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Wednesday announced an expansion to the city's CARE Program, a specialized team that responds to mental health crises without police.
A Texas couple is filing a lawsuit accusing the AI company of guiding their teenage son in using drugs, resulting in a fatal overdose.
An American on the repatriation flight began showing symptoms of hantavirus and another "tested mildly PCR positive for the Andes virus," the Department of Health and Human Services says.
More than 100 people from a cruise ship dealing with an outbreak of the rare and deadly hantavirus are set to be disembarked.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
U.S. prosecutors allege a man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to scam a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million.
Thousands of people marched from the West Loop to Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago on Friday for May Day, with activists calling for workers' rights, stronger labor protections, and increased school funding.
A $170 million-plus plan announced this week will redevelop the Water Tower Place mall on the Magnificent Mile.
The Chicago-born house music track, which began as a personal poem in 1982 and became a defining anthem of the city's house music scene, has been selected for permanent preservation by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
For Small Business Saturday join CBS News Chicago as we go inside Stix & Stones Wood Fired Pizza in Burr Ridge.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has the extended forecast.
A man was charged in a stabbing that left another man seriously injured after a fight outside a Walgreens in The Loop on Thursday night.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has the extended forecast.
An armed robbery turned into a shooting in Chicago's West Loop on Friday night.
Two women were shot during robbery in Chicago's West Loop early Saturday morning.
Scattered rain and gusty thunderstorms are expected Saturday night in the Chicago area.
Multiple street closures are taking effect across the city this weekend. Here's what you need to know.
A man was charged after a stabbing left another man seriously injured outside a Walgreens in The Loop on Thursday night.
A burglary suspect was taken into custody after allegedly stealing a Cook County Sheriff's car on Saturday morning.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
People in Lincoln Park and Lakeview have rallied against a plan to build a new industrial ComEd electrical substation in their neighborhoods, pushing local and state leaders to get involved.
Monday marks one year since Illinois enacted Karina's Law — legislation aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of people accused of domestic abuse.
Tenants at a South Shore apartment building said they've noticed their rent fluctuating by hundreds of dollars a month due to a change in how their utility billing system is set up.
A man from the Chicago suburbs lost $69,000 of his savings to a scam by a thief using an AI-generated U.S. Marshals badge to intimidate him.
Carson Kelly hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs stopped a five-game White Sox winning streak with a 10-5 victory over their crosstown rival.
Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 6-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Ian Happ hit a long home run and five Chicago Cubs pitchers combined for a 2-0 shutout of the Atlanta Braves that snapped a four-game losing streak.
Nazareth Academy senior Landon Thome is one of the top baseball players in Illinois, and his dream is to play in the big leagues like his Hall of Fame dad, Jim Thome, who's been there with him throughout his high school career.
The Bears will kick off the season against the defending NFC south champion Carolina Panthers.
A Davison Township police chief released body camera video showing how a senior "water wars" prank brought an officer within milliseconds of opening fire on a student.
A man was found shot to death Thursday morning in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood.
One man was killed and another was critically injured Thursday morning in a shooting in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood.
A young man was shot and killed while getting into his car in the Ashburn neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side Thursday morning.
A Chicago-area man who ran a business helping people apply for asylum and immigrant visas was recently sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud and child pornography.