CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) - Governor Pritzker is stopping short of supporting an expansion of e-learning for Chicago Public Schools students, as the Trump Administration steps up immigration enforcement in the city.
After hearing testimony about ICE agents' actions in the area during a Congressional shadow hearing in the Loop, the mayor told reporters Friday afternoon that Operation Midway Blitz has left a lot of people in the city in fear.
"There are people who are afraid to go to school, they're afraid to go to work, and it's having a profound effect on our local economy," said the mayor, who also said he supports a push by some parents and teachers to expand e-learning ... but cautions that would require the Board of Education to ask Governor Pritzker for an emergency declaration.
"That's his authority, but I definitely believe that's something that should be considered," he said.
At an unrelated event in Chicago less than two hours later, the Governor told reporters his focus is supporting local groups who are helping kids get to and from school safely.
"Remote learning really has a deleterious effect on kids' ability to get the kind of education that they need," said the governor. "We want to do everything we can to keep kids in school where they are safer, frankly, than when they're wandering around in the community."
And a Chicago Teachers Union spokesperson says there are ways to facilitate e-learning without the governor's involvement.
There's no comment today from the Board of Education.