SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Diagnosed with Cancer, Union President Lewis No Longer Contender in Chicago Mayoral Bid
Outpouring of support follows campaign suspension
Oct 14, 2014
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, a champion for public education and a vocal critic of corporate education reform, has been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and will not be able to run for office against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a source close to Lewis said on Monday.
On October 8, Lewis completed a successful five-hour surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she is also scheduled to undergo a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation.
"Karen Lewis has decided to not pursue a mayoral bid," Jay Travis, the head of her mayoral exploratory committee said in a statement. "Yet she charges us to continue fighting for strong neighborhood schools, safe communities and good jobs for everyone."
A recent poll had Lewis leading Emanuel in the mayoral election 45 to 36 percent.
The 61-year-old has been a longtime advocate of Chicago public schools and was held up by many as a national figure in the fight against the privatization of public schools. She had come up against Emanuel on numerous occasions, most notably in the September 2012 Chicago teachers' strike.
Following the announcement of her surgery, education scholar Diane Ravitch wrote on her blog, "In fighting against the forces of corporate reform that seek to destroy public education, Karen Lewis has been a model for all of us. She is a teacher. She has taught all of us how to organize from the ground up, how to rally resistance, how to live in truth and integrity."
An outpouring of support also continues to dominate the Karen Lewis for Mayor Facebook page while the Chicago Tribune editorial board wrote an open letter to Lewis, saying, "[Y]ou've made yourself essential to the debate in this metropolis -- to almost any debate, that is, about Chicago and its children, its schools, its finances, its direction."
"Larger-than-life political champions with the smarts and guts to take on the powers-that-be--well, they don't come around every day."
--Ben Joravsky
And in the Chicago Reader, journalist Ben Joravsky, who authored the book Hoop Dreams, wrote: "Larger-than-life political champions with the smarts and guts to take on the powers-that-be--well, they don't come around every day. Especially in Chicago. It's so disheartening to see the great ones go down, even if it's just a temporary setback, as we hope Karen's illness will be."
The Mayor's Press Office also issued a statement saying, "Lewis is a passionate advocate for her beliefs and has always been willing to speak up for her view of what's best [...] we hope to see her on her feet very soon."
According to a press statement, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey will assume the duties of the president during Lewis' recovery.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, a champion for public education and a vocal critic of corporate education reform, has been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and will not be able to run for office against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a source close to Lewis said on Monday.
On October 8, Lewis completed a successful five-hour surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she is also scheduled to undergo a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation.
"Karen Lewis has decided to not pursue a mayoral bid," Jay Travis, the head of her mayoral exploratory committee said in a statement. "Yet she charges us to continue fighting for strong neighborhood schools, safe communities and good jobs for everyone."
A recent poll had Lewis leading Emanuel in the mayoral election 45 to 36 percent.
The 61-year-old has been a longtime advocate of Chicago public schools and was held up by many as a national figure in the fight against the privatization of public schools. She had come up against Emanuel on numerous occasions, most notably in the September 2012 Chicago teachers' strike.
Following the announcement of her surgery, education scholar Diane Ravitch wrote on her blog, "In fighting against the forces of corporate reform that seek to destroy public education, Karen Lewis has been a model for all of us. She is a teacher. She has taught all of us how to organize from the ground up, how to rally resistance, how to live in truth and integrity."
An outpouring of support also continues to dominate the Karen Lewis for Mayor Facebook page while the Chicago Tribune editorial board wrote an open letter to Lewis, saying, "[Y]ou've made yourself essential to the debate in this metropolis -- to almost any debate, that is, about Chicago and its children, its schools, its finances, its direction."
"Larger-than-life political champions with the smarts and guts to take on the powers-that-be--well, they don't come around every day."
--Ben Joravsky
And in the Chicago Reader, journalist Ben Joravsky, who authored the book Hoop Dreams, wrote: "Larger-than-life political champions with the smarts and guts to take on the powers-that-be--well, they don't come around every day. Especially in Chicago. It's so disheartening to see the great ones go down, even if it's just a temporary setback, as we hope Karen's illness will be."
The Mayor's Press Office also issued a statement saying, "Lewis is a passionate advocate for her beliefs and has always been willing to speak up for her view of what's best [...] we hope to see her on her feet very soon."
According to a press statement, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey will assume the duties of the president during Lewis' recovery.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, a champion for public education and a vocal critic of corporate education reform, has been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and will not be able to run for office against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a source close to Lewis said on Monday.
On October 8, Lewis completed a successful five-hour surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she is also scheduled to undergo a regimen of chemotherapy and radiation.
"Karen Lewis has decided to not pursue a mayoral bid," Jay Travis, the head of her mayoral exploratory committee said in a statement. "Yet she charges us to continue fighting for strong neighborhood schools, safe communities and good jobs for everyone."
A recent poll had Lewis leading Emanuel in the mayoral election 45 to 36 percent.
The 61-year-old has been a longtime advocate of Chicago public schools and was held up by many as a national figure in the fight against the privatization of public schools. She had come up against Emanuel on numerous occasions, most notably in the September 2012 Chicago teachers' strike.
Following the announcement of her surgery, education scholar Diane Ravitch wrote on her blog, "In fighting against the forces of corporate reform that seek to destroy public education, Karen Lewis has been a model for all of us. She is a teacher. She has taught all of us how to organize from the ground up, how to rally resistance, how to live in truth and integrity."
An outpouring of support also continues to dominate the Karen Lewis for Mayor Facebook page while the Chicago Tribune editorial board wrote an open letter to Lewis, saying, "[Y]ou've made yourself essential to the debate in this metropolis -- to almost any debate, that is, about Chicago and its children, its schools, its finances, its direction."
"Larger-than-life political champions with the smarts and guts to take on the powers-that-be--well, they don't come around every day."
--Ben Joravsky
And in the Chicago Reader, journalist Ben Joravsky, who authored the book Hoop Dreams, wrote: "Larger-than-life political champions with the smarts and guts to take on the powers-that-be--well, they don't come around every day. Especially in Chicago. It's so disheartening to see the great ones go down, even if it's just a temporary setback, as we hope Karen's illness will be."
The Mayor's Press Office also issued a statement saying, "Lewis is a passionate advocate for her beliefs and has always been willing to speak up for her view of what's best [...] we hope to see her on her feet very soon."
According to a press statement, CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey will assume the duties of the president during Lewis' recovery.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.