Chicago teachers set to protest

By John Dempsey, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) Chicago Teachers Union members are planning to march and protest this morning in downtown Chicago, seeking greater funding for education.

Teacher’s Union VIce President Jesse Sharkey told “The Big John Howell Show” on WLS that the answer to the school funding crisis is for the State Legislature to impose a graduated income tax that would have wealthy Illinoisans paying more.

“Really what I think we need is progressive revenue, revenue that comes from the people with the most ability to pay, added into the school funding formula. Then have the funding formula reflect things like student need, high concentration of poverty, high concentration of English language learners, some of the things that makes educating students difficult in Chicago.”

The opening of Chicago Public Schools this fall is in question because the Illinois Legislature has failed to pass a budget that would fund Chicago schools.