CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- As the Chicago Teacher’s Union considers a strike, some elected officials are standing behind those opposed to a return to classrooms.
They represent city, county and state government, and gathered Wednesday in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, demanding that CPS and the mayor wait until teachers are vaccinated before they're send back to classrooms.
Alderman Michael Rodriguez said it’s not lost on him its Inauguration Day and that the President promises to turn the page on recklessness. He said CPS and the mayor can learn from that.
"We're weeks away from a vaccination for our teachers and our school staff," he said, "we should be weeks away from reopening our schools."
State Representative Edgar Gonzalez said "COVID ain't no joke, I've had it, and we're playing with our teachers lives right now."
He said everyone is anxious to get back to normal, "but that's not going to happen if teachers are dying from COVID-19."
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State senator Celina Villanueva said "this is an experiment that we should not be playing at. Asking educators to put their livelihood over their lives is unacceptable."
She added that "its devastating and a betrayal" to electronically lock out teachers who have refused to return to classrooms.