Ratification vote on teachers union contract set for Oct. 2

The deal that ended a seven-day Chicago teachers strike will be up for union approval on Tuesday, Oct. 2, Chicago Teachers Union officials said Thursday.

Packets of information, including the new contract and ballots, should arrive in schools on Friday, Sept. 28, CTU Financial Secretary …

City inspector general: Police evidence inadequently protected

The Chicago Police Department was unable to locate a “significant volume” of evidence and property found or seized by its officers because the 2.2 million items are being inadequately protected, documented and stored, the city’s inspector general has found.

Exclusive: CTU’s Karen Lewis on Emanuel, Vitale — and Steinem

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis hasn’t heard from Mayor Rahm Emanuel yet — but she has heard from Gloria Steinem and hundreds of supporters from as far away as Australia, France, Italy and Canada. And she isn’t interested in running for mayor, but she will run for a second term as president of the Chicago Teachers Union. Lewis sat down Wednesday for an exclusive print interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.

Emanuel focuses on contract’s benefits, not new costs

Mayor Rahm Emanuel welcomed students back from their unscheduled fall break on Wednesday, eager to trumpet the benefits of a new teachers contract. He was not, however, ready to delve into the specifics of how to pay for it.

Winners and losers in teachers’ strike — Rahm Emanuel is both

Chicago’s 350,000 public school students and their parents are the obvious winners now that the teachers strike is over.

Students will be back in the classroom with teachers who feel newly-energized and appreciated. Their parents can go to work without scrambling to make alternative arrangements …

Q & A: What’s next in teachers strike

Q: When will the Chicago Teachers Union strike end?

A. No one knows for sure. But parents have two chances in the next two days to see the strike end. The union’s House of Delegates could vote Tuesday afternoon to suspend it, or a judge …

Rahm Emanuel gambles and loses — for now — with teacher strike injunction attempt

Mayor Rahm Emanuel rolled the dice and lost — at least initially — in his bid to get striking Chicago Public School teachers back to the classroom, but it was a gamble worth taking, his City Council floor leader said Monday.

“The mayor opted to …

Chicago teachers strike timeline

TIMELINE OF DEVELOPMENTS June 11, 2010 — Chicago Teachers Union members overwhelmingly elect Karen Lewis as their president. Lewis ran in a runoff election against incumbent Marilyn Stewart. Feb. 22, 2011 — Rahm Emanuel elected mayor. April 18, 2011 — Emanuel chooses Jean-Claude Brizard, formerly …

‘I’m afraid of dying;’ Violence hits home for aldermen

For one out of five Chicago aldermen, the rise in the number of killings that have cast an unwanted national spotlight on violence in Chicago isn’t just something they read about or see on the news or wring their hands about during City Council meetings. They walk outside, and it’s there.

Teacher deal could lead to property tax hikes, school closings, layoffs

Four years of up-to-the-limit property tax increases for Chicago homeowners and businesses. Closing scores of under-enrolled and underperforming schools. Thousands of layoffs of teachers and other school staff. More cuts to the central office. That’s what could await the Chicago Public Schools, thanks to the tentative agreement between teachers and the district that is expected to put an end to the five-day teachers strike.

Online system to track city response 311 calls

Four months after Chicago’s failure to repair a crumbling downtown viaduct — despite a task order generated by a call to 311 — cost taxpayers $450,000, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is implementing a tracking system to make certain it never happens again.

Lessons Mayor Rahm Emanuel can learn from teacher strike

ANALYSIS: Instead of ridiculing striking teachers for complaining about sweltering schools without air-conditioning, what if Mayor Rahm Emanuel had put his formidable fund-raising skills to work to persuade corporate donors to bankroll school air-conditioners? Now that the teachers strike appears to be winding down, there are lessons to be learned for Chicago’s rookie mayor.

Park District awards 1st construction contract for Grant Park overhaul

The Chicago Park District has awarded contracting giant McHugh Construction a $7.4 million job to begin work on the overhaul of the north end of Grant Park. During its monthly meeting Wednesday, park district commissioners voted to approve the deal — the first construction contract …

City Hall explores legal options in teachers strike

With the Chicago teachers strike expected to drag on all week, maybe longer, aldermen on Wednesday braced for the political fallout from angry parents as City Hall researched possible legal solutions.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and School Board President David Vitale have argued that the teacher …

$1.1B Midway improvements promised under new ‘use agreement’

Airlines operating out of Midway Airport would make minimum of $1.1 billion in capital improvements over the next 15 years — with the prospect of sharing $22.5 million in airport revenues — under terms of a new “use agreement” proposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.