CTU’s Charter School War: A Battle Against Chicago Parents, Not for Them
In a city where education should be the engine of upward mobility, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has waged a quiet war.
Not against poor outcomes or underperforming schools, but against the very concept of choice. For years, the CTU has stonewalled efforts to work alongside charter schools. That failure isn’t just political. It’s personal for the thousands of parents and children left behind by a rigid, union-dominated system that refuses to evolve.
Let’s be clear: charter schools are public schools. They are funded by public dollars, serve public families, and operate under public accountability. What sets them apart is flexibility.
The ability to innovate, to adapt, and to respond to the real needs of communities. Charter schools aren’t the enemy of public education. They are a solution to the parts of it that have failed to deliver.
That is why it is morally wrong and operationally backward for the CTU to fight charter school expansion at every turn. They have not only lobbied to cap the number of charter schools allowed in the city, they have blocked proposals to allow charters to occupy vacant CPS buildings.
Instead of reviving these shuttered campuses with new life, energy, and opportunity, the union would rather let them decay just to prevent a charter school from succeeding.
Ask yourself: who benefits from that? Certainly not the children trapped in underperforming traditional schools. Not the working-class parents begging for alternatives. And certainly not the communities littered with boarded-up school buildings, once centers of neighborhood life, now ghostly reminders of bureaucratic failure.
We need a change, and that change starts with federal leadership that understands the value of school choice and is willing to stand up to the political machinery that tries to crush it.
Charter Schools That Work: The Proof Is Already Here
Chicago is already home to several high-performing charter networks that are changing the lives of students—especially those from underserved neighborhoods.
Noble Network of Charter Schools has produced some of the highest college enrollment and persistence rates in the city. Over 90% of Noble graduates enroll in college, with a growing percentage completing their degrees. Their focus on discipline, college readiness, and equity has become a model replicated nationally.
LEARN Charter School Network serves primarily low-income and minority students and boasts impressive test score improvements and a 100% college acceptance rate among high school graduates in many of its campuses.
Perspectives Charter Schools, with a unique “A Disciplined Life” curriculum, teaches social-emotional learning alongside academics. Students are not only passing standardized tests at increasing rates—they are graduating with tools for real-world success.
These schools, and others like them, are evidence of what is possible when bureaucracy steps aside and innovation is allowed to thrive. So the question isn’t whether charter schools can work in Chicago. They already are. The question is why CTU and CPS continue to limit their growth, block their use of vacant buildings, and treat them like enemies of education.
Here’s what I will do, if elected to Congress:
Expand Federal Charter School Program (CSP) Funding
I will fight to increase funding for high-quality charter schools through the Charter Schools Program, prioritizing grants that focus on underserved communities and high-need zip codes like many parts of Chicago’s South and West Sides.Create a Federal Incentive for Vacant School Reuse
I will propose legislation that offers federal grants and tax incentives to cities that allow public charter schools to occupy, renovate, and reopen shuttered public school buildings. This turns taxpayer waste into taxpayer wins, creating opportunity instead of blight.Protect Charter Autonomy from Union Overreach
I will work to shield charter schools from burdensome federal mandates pushed by teachers’ unions, ensuring they can continue to innovate, hire effective educators, and serve students without fear of political interference.Champion Parent Empowerment and Education Equity
I will elevate the voices of families, especially Black and Latino parents, who overwhelmingly support school choice. I will help create federal forums and advisory groups that center the needs of families, not just special interest groups.
The truth is, Chicago families are not asking for miracles. They are asking for options. They want schools that are safe, rigorous, and centered on academic excellence, not ideological battles. They want their children to thrive, not be used as pawns in political turf wars.
The CTU’s refusal to coexist with charter schools is not just short-sighted. It is a betrayal of the people they claim to represent. The path forward is not about shutting down traditional schools, but about creating more high-quality choices, everywhere, for every child.
Let’s stop acting like innovation is a threat. Let’s start acting like every child deserves the best shot at success, no matter where they live, who their parents are, or which building they walk into.
Charter schools are not a silver bullet, but they are a vital part of the solution. And I intend to fight for that solution in Washington until every child in Chicago has the freedom to attend a school that truly serves them.
