CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Chicago Teachers Union is criticizing the accuracy of the COVID-19 data that the Chicago Public Schools are reporting on an online dashboard. They said it could be misleading parents.
Chicago Teachers Union Chief of Staff Jen Johnson and CTU Deputy General Counsel Thaddeus Goodchild addressed the issue during an online briefing.
"A lack of transparency and not telling the truth has grave consequences, like literally grave consequences in this case. And we are not trying to be alarmists," said Jen Johnson during an online briefing following a bargaining session with the administration.
"We are very concerned about an absence of transparency and truth."
CTU Deputy General Counsel Thaddeus Goodchild said this is a really big problem, because "this is where the public and parents go to get a sense of whether things are operating safely; and there needs to be trust, credibility, and transparency on how this is reported.
"It's quite clear the information on there is not accurate."
He said when it comes to matters like this - of safety of students and educators - where time is of the essence and "accurate reporting is a grave health issue, the only thing worse than not being timely is reporting inaccurately."
Johnson: "Are they lying? We really don't have a good way to know."
CPS and the Chicago Department of Public Health issued a statement that said, “The public tracker is not currently set up to report on dynamic numbers, meaning, how many people are quarantined at a given time. The tracker represents one point in time. Some who are quarantined initially are no longer in quarantine after the investigation is complete and they are found to be vaccinated. This is not reflected in the tracker."
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