Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed the Trump administration for the ongoing impasse between Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union.
Although she did not mention Donald Trump’s name, Lightfoot told CNN’s “New Day” that “This is a very difficult situation and we’re in it, still, because of the incompetence of the previous administration [in rolling out the vaccine]. So I think it’s important for both sides to come to the table in good faith, recognize that we’re both trying to work through a very challenging situation but we must get a deal done.”
A day earlier the mayor said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that the dispute was “uniquely local.”
Lightfoot told CNN the outstanding issues that have prevented the district and union from agreeing on a deal to reopen schools to more than 60,000 kindergarten through eighth grade students are vaccines and accommodations for teachers with health concerns.
She said the city has given thousands of accommodations to teachers who are concerned about their safety, but union representatives have claimed too few were granted.
The Chicago Tribune reported that the union said the rate of denials for those who wanted to continue remote teaching because of an elderly or immunocompromised relative is “unconscionable.”
Lightfoot would not say if she thinks school will reopen Thursday after the “cooling-off period,” which she said was meant to allow the sides to reach an agreement without the threat of virtual classroom lockouts.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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