Sending a strong message: This movement is for real

Last night's panelists

Packed house

Last night's Town Hall Meeting sent a strong message that the movement for an elected school board in Chicago is the real deal. We packed the Logan Square Auditorium to hear a panel of dynamic speakers that included CTU Pres. Karen Lewis, UIC Prof. Pauline Lipman, Ames Middle School parent, Dalia Bonilla, and Chicago Reader columnist, Ben Joravsky. Former state rep. candidate Will Guzzardi moderated.

Ames Middle School parent

An advisory referendum is already on the ballot in many of the city's precincts. But the struggle to get legislation passed to finally put an end to the mayor's hand-picked, rubber-stamp, board of billionaires and real estate brokers is just beginning. A movement is galvanizing in the wake of the victorious CTU strike and I left last night's meeting feeling good about our chances of ending a disastrous (for public education) couple of decades of mayor control of our schools.