The Chicago Teachers Union organized a protest and march in downtown Chicago over TIF fund money, which should have gone to the public schools, going instead to property development for the Mayor's rich friends. On Feb. 25, 2016 the protest began in front of City Hall, then marched over to the river, targeting the glittering new River Point Plaza skyscraper, owned by Rahm's friend Larry Levy, who got $30 Million of TIF funds from the city to help the project along. This, while very damaging cuts to schools are planned. The schools should have received the $30 Million instead. Chicago Teachers Union member Georgia Waller was there and talked about the devastating cuts. "We have special needs students that are loosing services: nurses, psychologists, social workers...our children need to have these services in the school. We have children that see horrific things. Psychologists would be needed in our schools, or social workers, because some of our children are suffering economic stress...And our nurses. Nurses do more than put bandaids on wounds. Nurses help children with hygiene. They help children will all kinds of illnesses to be prepared on how to deal with their illnesses. Those things are important. And the classrooms. Classrooms don't have resources." CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey, before leading a march to River Point Plaza, told the protesters that they were there "to talk about the connection between the savage cuts coming to the schools, including layoffs, including unilateral 7% pay cuts in the middle of a school year, also layoffs that have already come, on top of the cuts in special education funding that have already come, and we're here to draw the connection between those cuts and the Tax Income Finance program. TIFs are very much a slush fund for rich developers and their politically connected politicians that are doled out to their friends and donators." Pointing across the Chicago river to where the new, lavish River Front Plaza skyscraper stood glistening as the sun set, Sharkey said: "$30 million dollars of school TIF money at work on this highrise, and they say Chicago is broke and can't afford good public schools. No way!" Larry Levy, the developer, has given thousands in donations to Rahm and (Governor) Rauner. Sharkey warned that "if they cut our pay 7% and make an illegal, unilateral cut we will respond. That threat will not be taken lying down. We consider that an unfair labor practice, and our union could respond in that situation with an unfair labor practice strike. But for right now we're saying that this is a solution that doesn't require that. This is a solution where we can avoid cuts and do the right thing for our schools in marching over and asking wealthy developers like Larry Levy to give back this money." Please make a Donation to Labor Beat (Committee for Labor Access) and help rank-and-file tv: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted;_button_id=2F96NDFQRSF3G

• published: 28 Feb 2016
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