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Judge to issue decision in 'Lynch v. Huberman' today (March 26, 2010)

George N. Schmidt - March 26, 2010

U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve told the parties on March 25, 2010, that she would issue her decision in the case of 'Lynch v. Huberman' by Friday, March 26, 2010. On March 25, Judge St. Eve heard two witnesses and then heard the final arguments from lawyers for the Chicago teachers who filed the case and the Chicago Board of Education. The case will be decided on whether the March 12, 2010 banning of Chicago Teachers Union election campaigning in the city's public schools as has been done for more than a half century is a violation of teacher First Amendment rights. The Board of Education has defended Huberman's issuance of the strict guidelines as constitutional; the teachers have argued it is not.

Chicago Board of Education's 'Chief Labor Relations Officer' Rachel Resnick (above, at the March 24, 2010 Chicago Board of Education meeting) was the only witness called to testify in federal court during the hearings on the First Amendment case brought by teachers following the issuance of the March 12 Order banning CTU election activities in the schools. Resnick's testimony was that teacher meetings and the use of school mailboxes by the opposition caucuses within the union would disrupt the schools and be a burden on principals, ignoring a tradition on union election campaigning in the schools that dates back to the 1960s and continued while Resnick herself was a CPS teacher in the 1970s and 1980s. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt. The Board's only witness, Chief Labor Relations Officer Rachel Resnick, testified on March 25 that the CPS administration had to restrict the rights of teachers.

The plaintiffs recalled Sarah Loftus (a retired CPS teacher and Substance reporter) to testify as to the extent to which outside groups are given access to the schools and to teacher mailboxes.

Following the testimony, the attorneys argued their points of view on the First Amendment.

Mark Trent, who represented CPS, said that the Board of Education has the right to restrict access to the schools and to mailboxes.

Jose Behar, representing the teachers, said that the First Amendment does not allow the Board to take such actions.

Judge St. Eve told everyone that she would issue her decision by Friday, March 26. The plaintiffs are asking for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which would in effect be a ruling that Ron Huberman had violated the U.S. Constitution in issuing his March 12, 2010 order.

As the morning of March 26, approached, at 3:00 a.m. there was as yet no decision in Lynch v. Huberman. It will be reported at substancenews.net as soon as it is issued. 

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