LEAD Dinner 2017 hears from gubernatorial candidates and several legislators...
The Chicago Teachers Union LEAD (Legislators Educators Appreciation Dinner) Dinner 2017 was held at the CTU Carroll St. center on Friday, October 27, 2017. It was the first LEAD since 2015, as the event was not held in 2016 despite the importance of the 2016 election. The CTU space was filled, and those who had not reserved their $50 tickets early were placed way in the back where it turned out that many people were more interested in their own conversations than in hearing what the speakers had to say.
I really wanted to go to the LEAD dinner because I like corn beef and cabbage, and I remembered some of the remarkable speeches from past years -- for example, Governor Quinn’s speech, even though his speech was sometimes drowned out by talking. So on the afternoon of the 27th of October, I went to the CTU and tried to pay my money, $50, cash or check. Since I had neither cash or check, I was told that I could come and register at the door that evening.
I came back at 5:00 pm and was told that all tables were sold out. I could pay my money and sit by the dessert table and bar in a separate room with a television screen showing the program. I was excited because I met and talked to J.B. Pritzker before we walked into the hall. I liked JB because he made an effort to talk to everyone and seemed really interested in what people had to say. So, I finally found my place in the bar lounge area by the television screen.
Randi Weingarten, President of the, American Federation of Teachers, was speaking and I really wanted to hear what she had to say. I could not hear in the bar, and I really didn’t hear what Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Vice President Jesse Sharkey discussed.
This continued until an engineer came in and turned up the sound. Remarkably, instead of making it easier to hear, everyone talked louder. I spotted a seat that was empty out in the dining hall and sat down. The people at the dining tables seemed to be listening, and it was quieter, but there were people standing at the back and as well as the bar lounge talking.
Several state legislators and aldermen were in attendance. Gubernatorial candidates, J.B. Pritzker, State Senator Daniel Biss and Chris Kennedy were there. Other attendees included former mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia, County Board President Tony Preckwinkle, State Representative Chris Welch, State Senator Kwame Raoul, State Representative Silvana Tabares, Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, State Representative, Robert Marwick, and State Representative Sonya Harper.
Instead of a speaker, there were videos of law makers and organizers talking about their actions that were being taken to help education and bills coming up. State Senator Danial Biss with State Senator Chris Welch, explained how our taxes are tied up in commercial financial section, meaning hedge funds and equity funds and trading. They described a bill to close the "Carried Interest" loopholes. Biss wondered why our tax laws should shelter the top 1 percent. Our tax code was not written for that type of economy. Another speaker, which I could not identify, stated that Illinois would earn one billion dollars every year from closing loopholes. Sonya Harper was recognized for being a "TIF Reform Champion."
