North Cook News

Jon Luers, a candidate for Illinois State Senate District 10, recently shed light on the activities of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) in a social media post. The post included a link to an article by Illinois Policy that delved into the workings of CTU. Luers is set to contest against incumbent Democrat Robert Martwick in the forthcoming general election.

"This article is an excellent compendium of many articles from the last few years, and includes a link to an hour-long documentary also produced by Illinois Policy showing how the avowed Marxists running the CTU have high political ambitions," said Luers, according to Facebook. "The video was made before they got Mayor Johnson elected, but subsequent articles are linked covering CTU's demands for this summer's contract negotiations."

The article that Luers shared from Illinois Policy was titled "What You Should Know About The Chicago Teachers Union." According to this piece, the CTU has its lobbyist in the mayor's office and "has grown increasingly militant and political since the Caucus of Rank-and-File-Educators took over its leadership in 2010." The article also mentions that negotiations for a new contract are slated to commence this summer. Furthermore, it provides a list of previous articles about CTU covering topics such as political donations, costs to taxpayers, leadership issues, finances, corruption, and strikes.

Screenshot of Jon Luers for IL 10th Senate District Facebook post | Jon Luers for IL Senate Facebook page

In recent developments last month, the Illinois Policy Institute lodged an ethics complaint against CTU. They accused the union of "violating school district policies by encouraging teachers to help students attend a get-out-the vote event," as reported by WGN9 on March 11. This event was reportedly organized with promoters of Mayor Brandon Johnson's real estate transfer tax according to Illinois Policy Institute.

District 10 encompasses Chicago's northwest side along with North Cook County communities including Norridge, Schiller Park, Rosemont, Park Ridge and Niles. At present, it is represented by Martwick who is an attorney and former criminal prosecutor as per his website.

Luers himself brings four decades of experience as a software engineer to his candidacy for the 10th District Illinois Senate. Born in Chicago and educated at Northwestern University, he has expressed dissatisfaction with both state and national trajectories under Democratic leadership. He asserts that more people are recognizing what he perceives as Democrats' lack of genuine concern for their well-being and are ready for substantial change. On his website, Luers has criticized his opponent, State Sen. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago), describing him as a clone of Mike Madigan who benefits from a property tax appeals business while taxes continue to rise.