Lori Lightfoot doesn't understand that Chicago teachers have always been "political." Like 120 years ago when Margaret Haley & the Chicago Teachers Federation went after corporate tax dodgers who were starving public schools of revenue.

Or 90 years ago in the depths of the Great Depression when thousands of Chicago teachers staged sickouts & held huge marches downtown to protest how banks were getting bailed out while schools were being underfunded & they weren't even getting paid.

Or 50 years ago when Chicago teacher Al Raby partnered w/ MLK to fight housing discrimination in the city & Black substitute teachers held wildcat actions to protest hiring discrimination, prompting the CTU's first official strike.

Or 35 years ago when Jacqueline Vaughn led the CTU on multiple strikes to lower class sizes & improve student learning conditions, including the famous 19-day strike in 1987.