The latest
CPS plans to lock out some teachers who don’t show Monday, putting CTU on verge of strike once again
Rich Hein; Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools officials say they will lock out preschool teachers and staff who work with disabled children from remote work if they don’t return to schools Monday, reigniting the potential for the city’s second teachers strike in 15 months.
If the mayor and school district follow through with a threat they’ve made then backed off from several times the past two weeks, a Chicago Teachers Union walkout would likely be triggered, plunging the school system into deeper turmoil during a pandemic that has upended education for the past year.
“Despite making significant compromises in an effort to reach a deal with CTU leadership, we still do not have an agreement,” the mayor and schools chief Janice Jackson wrote in an email to staff early Friday evening. “We have the power to make sure this virus does not further disrupt the growth and progress of all our students. We hope a resolution is near, and we thank you for your patience and support.”
The email was sent as a virtual meeting of thousands of CTU members took place, during which union president Jesse Sharkey said no one should report to schools Monday unless there is a full agreement between the union and CPS.
Nader Issa and Sophie Sherry have the full story here.
News
Saturday 2:30 p.m. 3K more residents infected, but 63K more vaccinated against coronavirus across Illinois
Public health officials on Saturday announced another high vaccination day for Illinois as the state logged 3,062 new cases of COVID-19 and 60 more deaths attributed to it.
Just over 63,000 shots went into arms Friday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the third highest number of doses administered in a day with the state almost two months into an unprecedented vaccination campaign.
Nearly 1.3 million shots have been doled out in all, but only about 285,000 people have received both required doses so far — not even 2.3% of the population. Officials are aiming to immunize at least 80% of the state’s 12.7 million residents.
But the effort has gained steam over the past two weeks as about 3.2 million eligible residents continue scrambling to lock up vaccination appointments. The state’s rolling average of doses administered per day is now up to 49,909.
Read the full update from Mitchell Armentrout here.
Analysis & Commentary
From Friday — Making a list, getting ready to make up for lost time, which can’t come soon enough
There’s an Italian restaurant we like on Ogden Avenue in Clarendon Hills called ZaZa’s. It’s nothing fancy, just good food.
Even in normal times, we don’t get to ZaZa’s often because it’s quite a hike from where we live now in the city. With the virus, it’s been at least a year since we’ve eaten there.
One of ZaZa’s specialties is something they call Pesce Bianco al Spinaci, which the menu describes as “whitefish roasted with extra virgin olive oil, capers, lemon and white wine, served with a side of fire-roasted spinach.”
It’s soooo good. The fish. The sauce. I can’t stop thinking about it lately.
I’ve pretty much decided to put it at the top of The List.
You know, The List — all the things you want to do when this is finally over.
Surely, you have one by now, if only in your head.
At this point, it’s not so much a matter of whether you’re thinking about what you’re going to do when the pandemic winds down as whether you can think about anything else. That can be a problem, of course, because, even with the vaccines, we’ve still got a long ways to go.
Read the full column from Mark Brown here.
Source by chicago.suntimes.com
