
Legislative Update: COVID Administrative Days and Too Young to Test
The Illinois House passed two bills this week of key importance to CTU members: HB 1167: COVID Administrative Days and HB 5285: Too Young to Test.
The Illinois House passed two bills this week of key importance to CTU members: HB 1167: COVID Administrative Days and HB 5285: Too Young to Test.
The CTU has been busy in the General Assembly so far in the 2022 legislative session. Several important bills already have passed out of committee and we expect other legislation we support to advance, as well.
HB 2778 sits on Gov. Pritzker’s desk awaiting his signature. It creates COVID leave for all school workers and retroactively restores sick days used for COVID purposes. Tell him to sign it.
Passing bills in the General Assembly is never easy — as our 10-year fight to win an elected school board shows — but it is an even harder lift during the two-week fall veto session. That is why I am thrilled to report success this year on three pieces of key legislation that your support and advocacy helped pass during the just-completed fall session.
House Bill 2778 would guarantee that all school districts treat educational employees fairly and promote economic recovery while helping to ensure schools remain safe for those who learn and work in them.
Up until now, Chicago Public Schools has never had an elected school board in its entire history. All that will change as HB 2809 — passed in the Illinois General Assembly’s 2021 spring session — goes into effect. It’s been a long time coming.
Elected, Representative School Board legislation is moving through the General Assembly.
Our success in Springfield depends on you — call your legislators today.
The Illinois General Assembly has started its spring legislative session, and CTU is there advocating for what our schools need. Our goal is to build on our recent victories and to pass legislation that makes concrete improvements in school governance and oversight and that allows us to be more effective in our work.
HB 2275 will restore bargaining rights to CTU and all other CPS unions that were eliminated by the 1995 amendatory act. Both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly have passed it. IL House Speaker Welch needs to send the bill now to Governor Pritzker so he can sign it. Write them both and your state representative to urge action as soon as possible on this bill which can impact the safe reopening agreement under negotiation now between CTU and CPS.