By: Ashmar Mandou

Thousands of Chicago teachers made their way downtown to protest while Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered her budget address as the Chicago teacher strike entered its seventh day Wednesday. Teachers and supporters gathered at various locations around the Loop and headed over to City Hall then Thompson Center. A week later, Chicago Teaches Union (CTU) educators are fighting for better wages, smaller class sizes, adequate staffing, and educational justice for students and their families. They want the additional state revenue CPS receives to increase equity to go to school communities and student needs. “This year, more than 1,300 CPS classes are overcrowded under CPS’ own high class caps, up from more than a thousand overcrowded classrooms last year,” released CTU in a media advisory. Wednesday morning, Mayor Lightfoot called on the union to continue to bargain to call off the strike so that kids can go back to class. CTU expressed their disappointment as Mayor Lightfoot fell back on her promise to do “better. “We’re teachers. We’re going to read your homework assignment. You turn in a half a paper, then we’re not going to give you a complete grade for that…she is going to have to do enough for us to say this is fair and it’s a real change for our schools,” said CTU President Jesse Sharkey.