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Karen Lewis Snags Another 3-Year CTU Term (Since No One Ran Against Her)

By Ted Cox | April 7, 2016 1:15pm
 Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and Vice President Jesse Sharkey will retain their positions with new three-year terms set to begin in July.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and Vice President Jesse Sharkey will retain their positions with new three-year terms set to begin in July.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

RIVER NORTH — Karen Lewis went unchallenged in the latest Chicago Teachers Union election cycle and will begin a new three-year term as president in July.

The union announced Thursday that its House of Delegates had reaffirmed Lewis' position Wednesday night and canceled an election because there was no slate to challenge her.

Lewis' slate mates Jesse Sharkey and Michael Brunson will likewise retain their positions as vice president and recording secretary.

Ted Cox on Karen Lewis' strong standing in the CTU.

Maria Moreno, a speech-language pathologist, will replace special-education teacher Kristine Mayle as financial secretary after Mayle decided not to seek re-election.

"My vision of the union is that it continues to encourage active participation of its members in the fight for our profession and the education our students deserve,” Moreno said. “The union must also continue establishing strong partnerships among parents, students, communities and labor organizations in our efforts to defend high-quality, equitable public education for all students and address the social-justice issues that hurt the people we serve as educators."

The union continues to negotiate a new contract with Chicago Public Schools after conducting a one-day strike Friday to protest inadequate state education funding. The union, however, has also called for a fact-finding report on contract talks — a final legal hurdle before calling a full-scale strike, which could come as early as late May.

Lewis, formerly a chemistry teacher at King College Prep and Lane Tech, has been union president since 2010 and led teachers in the 2012 strike. She suffered a cancer scare in 2014, which derailed any thoughts of her running for mayor, but has since returned to head the union and gave a rousing speech Friday at the Thompson Center.

The union said that not having to hold an election will save a substantial amount of money.

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