Karen Lewis get-well cards should be sent to CTU office, CTU asks... Lewis supporters continue circulating nominating petitions
The Chicago Teachers Union on behalf of Karen Lewis has asked its members and others to send Get Well cards to the CTU offices. "We will make sure that Karen gets them," CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement.
Among the thousands of events by Karen Lewis was the July 12, 2014 appearance a the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with Chicago public schools student Asean Johnson (at podium) and community leader Jitu Brown (right). Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.In a related development, campaign staff continued making phone calls and circulating nominating petitions to get Karen Lewis on the ballot to run for mayor in the February 24, 2014 election. The nominating petitions must be turned in to the Board of Election Commissioners by November 24, 2014. A candidate must have 12,500 valid signatures on nominating petitions in order to get on the ballot. A long-time Chicago political trick is to challenge every signature on an independent running for major office and stall for days as functionaries go through each petition line by line.
Karen Lewis
Chicago Teachers Union
222 Mdse Mart Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60654
In a statement to CTU members on October 9, 2014, Sharkey said:
Dear -------,
President Karen Lewis is suffering from a serious illness, and out of respect to her wishes, the wishes of her family, and their privacy, we cannot provide additional details at this time.
Karen underwent surgery yesterday and is recovering well. CTU officers and administration have visited and spoken with her, and she is alert and comfortable. She will, however, need time to recover. In that time, I will assume the duties of CTU president according to the rules set forth in the Chicago Teachers Union Constitution and By-laws.
We, as a union, wish President Lewis all the best and pledge all of our supportboth in aiding in her recovery and carrying on the work of the CTU, which she cares about so deeply. We urge well-wishers to send cards to the CTU office and we will make sure they are delivered.
In solidarity,
signature
Jesse Sharkey
CTU Vice President
