Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot goes to war with teachers union for holding students ‘hostage’

In a press conference, Lightfoot took direct aim at the union, stating that she will not allow it to "take our children hostage," Fox News reported.

"I will not allow them to compromise the future of this generation of CPS students. That is not going to happen," Lightfoot said.

According to the report, Lightfoot denied demands from the Chicago Teachers Union for the district to require all staff, students, vendors, and school volunteers to produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test result before returning to in-person learning.

"We are not going to rob parents of their right and their obligation to tell us if they want testing or not on their children," Lightfoot said. "It's not going to happen. It's morally wrong."

Speaking to Chicago station WBEZ on Wednesday, Lightfoot said that while the city loves its teachers, the CTU leadership "is a whole different matter."

"And we cannot allow them to blow up the school system because they decide they want to engage in disruptive, chaotic conduct," she said.

Her remarks come as the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, the third largest school district in Chicago, announced that in-person learning would not be returning on Thursday as previously planned.

The union held a vote on Tuesday, with 73 percent in favor of canceling in-person learning until their demands were met for certain health and safety conditions to be adhered to in schools, including more vaccination sites and regular testing.

As a result of the vote, the public school district canceled classes on Wednesday and refused to allow remote learning for students. Classes were cancelled on Thursday as well.