CTU wants 2016 'predatory loans' investigated, proposes plan to fund contract demands
CTU targets 'predatory loans' in fight for 9 percent raises, school support staff increases
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is pushing for annual 9 percent raises, additional school support staff and other concessions from Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The union has also proposed a plan to fund these demands.
CHICAGO - The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is pushing for annual 9 percent raises, additional school support staff and other concessions from Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The union has also proposed a plan to fund these demands.
On Wednesday, the CTU, currently in contract negotiations, called for an official investigation into what it describes as 'predatory loans' made during the tenures of then-Governor Bruce Rauner and then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The CTU claims these bad deals made banks rich while intentionally driving the school district towards financial ruin.
The union has requested Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to investigate the loans made in 2016, citing cases where attorneys general won back hundreds of millions of dollars from banks and investment firms for violating finance and lending laws.
The CTU believes that penalties owed by the banks to CPS could cover three-quarters of this year's school budget.
"We are asking the banks to pay back on these bad, predatory deals that they arranged with Bruce Rauner and Rahm Emanuel in 2016 that eliminated the district's reserves. They're bad actors. They need to pay their fair share. They're living large, our schools are crumbling," said Jackson Potter, CTU Vice President.
The teachers union has also sent formal investigation requests to members of the City Council, the State Senate and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.