Chicago Cancels Public School Classes As Teachers' Strike Looms

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says classes in the city's public schools will be canceled Thursday for 299,000 children, in anticipation of an expected teacher strike. The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools have been locked in a months-long contract dispute over higher pay, caps on class size and other issues. The union's delegates plan to meet Wednesday evening to vote on whether to move forward with the strike. In a news conference Wednesday, Lightfoot said that she stands by the city's most recent offer, which she said would provide teachers a 16 percent raise over five years, among other proposed changes. "We have tried to provide the best deal that is fiscally responsible, that's fair to teachers, fair to taxpayers," Lightfoot said. "Without question, the deal we put on the table is the best in the Chicago Teachers Union's history." The teachers union said that the city's offer was paltry compared with what the union wants. Union leadership said Tuesday that some