Greetings,

On October 17, in an address before the RainbowPUSH Coalition congregation which was broadcast by cable television throughout the greater Chicago region, Senator James T. Meeks, who represents the 15^th Senate District and also is pastor of the Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, accused the Chicago Teachers Union of being “a gang.”

Senator Meeks’ exact words were: “Chicago Public Schools have a gang problem. The gang, however, is not the BDs, the gang is not the GDs, the gang is not the Vice Lords and the gang is not the Four Corner Hustlers. The gang is the Chicago Teachers Union.”

In an op-ed piece he wrote for the Chicago Tribune, which appeared on October 29, Senator Meeks enlarged on his insult to unionized public school teachers in Chicago by stating: “The Chicago Teachers Union has figured out a way for teachers to not be evaluated on obvious criteria, such as how well they perform in the classroom.”

I have personally requested that Senator Meeks publicly apologize for his inappropriate remarks, but he has refused. As a result, the Chicago Teachers Union Political Action Committee is withholding any contributions to Senator Meeks’ campaign fund.

Please join me in expressing displeasure with Senator Meeks for his offense statements. You may e-mail your message to him by clicking here jmeeks@senatedem.ilga.gov.

In unity,

Marilyn Stewart

President