Chicago Families Demand Senate President Don Harmon and Mayor Lori Lightfoot Stop Standing in the Way of Chicago Voters & Families
CHICAGO – With four days left in the legislative session, the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) coalition will hold an 11AM press conference to demand that Mayor Lori Lightfoot step out of the way and that Senate President Don Harmon call the fully elected school board bill (SB2497/HB1909) for a vote.
Where: Thompson Center (100 W Randolph), also live streamed on Raise Your Hand Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ilraiseyourhand.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Senate President Harmon need to stop prioritizing the interests of billionaires and donors over Chicago families who overwhelmingly want a fully elected representative school board. Chicago families are tired of Mayor Lightfoot and Senate President Harmon doing their best impressions of former Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Senate President John Cullerton, continuing to deny democracy for Chicago Public Schools.
The Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) Coalition has been putting in calls to state senators and the majority of legislators support a fully elected school board. This bill would pass if called for a vote. In addition, for the past 2 months, the GEM Coalition hasbeen canvassing in Senate President Harmon’s district and informing his constituents about elected versus appointed school boards, his constituents agree: Chicago Black and Brown families should be able to directly hold board members accountable to their education decisions.
The GEM coalition rejects any proposal that continues to give the mayor majority control of education instead of Chicago voters; democracy is non-negotiable. The new school board proposals that are in the media are not any different than what Chicago has now: continuation of mayoral control. Mayoral control has pushed out thousands of Black families and closed down schools primarily in Black and Brown communities, there cannot be one more day of this outrage.
All that is left is for Senate President Don Harmon to call the bill and end this era of voter suppression in Chicago.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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