Chicago Teachers Union Demands Mayor Close All Schools Over Virus

CHICAGO — On Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago Public Schools will remain open. The Chicago Teachers Union took to Twitter to pressure the mayor to cancel classes systemwide over concerns about the new coronavirus, as local Catholic schools and some suburban districts have done.

The teachers union issued an "urgent letter" to Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson that raised concerns about 540 polling places for Tuesday's primary election being located at city schools.

"Given the serious health risks this situation represents, the Chicago Teachers Union hereby demands that schools be closed on March 17, and that CPS schedules overnight deep cleaning at each school that serves as a polling place starting on March 17," the CTU letter states.

The union also called for Lightfoot and Jackson to "support fifteen days of paid sick leave for all CPS parents and Chicago residents, immediately suspend all evictions, urge IHSA to cancel sporting events, and join us in supporting community demands presented March 11 by a coalition of union, educators, elected and community partners."

Lightfoot has said she's considering the possible negative effects of closing public schools — the burden it would on parents to find child care and providing multiple meals to students who rely on them every day. But the mayor hasn't ruled out school closures in the future.

"We are, of course, taking every aspect of this very seriously, and particularly the question of whether our schools should or should not remain open is something we have frequent conversations about all day long,” Lightfoot said at a news conference earlier Friday.

“We start the day with that question, among others, and we continue to assess things with our partners at CPS on a regular basis. And we will continue to do that.”

Lightfoot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were scheduled to provide an update at 4 p.m. on the COVID-19 virus response.