>> When the Chicago Board of Education meets later this week, they will have some tough decisions to make.

The board is expected to vote on the nearly 10 billion dollar budget proposal from CPS which the district recently revised to avoid staff furloughs.

But to close the 732 million dollar deficit district is planning 1600 layoffs, including more than 700 teachers.

Joining us now is Stacey Davis.

Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

Welcome back.

Good to see Stacey you to thank you for having So you can see to your calling on board members to reject this budget proposal from CPS recalling on board members to call it a first drive for not calling for rejection.

I think what we saw today from the Chicago public schools is what we expected them to do.

>> Capitulate that the budget is not yet.

Bates.

We know that it's July.

We do this every single summer and by the end of August, we have a budget.

They go back and forth with ID is about with they think is fully baked.

We push them.

We challenge them.

Parents call them.

We make demands and we finally get to a place that both parties can tolerate.

We're not there yet.

>> Cps says that this change to avoid the furlough days is increasing the assumption in tip dollars that they'll get from 202 to 285 as well as listening to the voices of the community and the stakeholders during feedback sessions.

But they're saying that this budget has to be passed this week in order to make payroll in September.

Do you think that's an accurate, reasonable timeline?

This vision has to be passed by the end of August.

We know that by law it.

>> We do this every single year.

But again, here's what we know.

We know that the mayor, Chicago has surplus to a billion dollars to the Chicago public schools since 2024, we know that, right?

come through for us every single year.

We also know that if the governor and the General Assembly do not call for a special session that this budget is never going to be in the place to offer our children.

The type of enrichment they need after school and the type of instruction that they need.

A special education classrooms.

The governor and the General Assembly have to get real.

We're fighting Cook County this year to give us money that they owe this last year.

I think Maria Pappas, his office is holding almost a half billion dollars of money that could be distribute it.

We need them to become a bit more series about that aspect of school season and not having both the money from the county that's coming from property taxes not receiving the full funding from the governor in Springfield and relying, you know, too heavily on tips.

Hes got or schools face scene, both furloughs and layoffs at the same time when all 3 of these entities, if they met in the middle, we might get there.

But if the state doesn't come through, this problem is going to become chaos.

I want to come back to the because you mentioned Cook County, Trevor Cook County Treasurer, Maria Pappas.

>> The Illinois Federation of Teachers is suing her and her office for failure to disperse those property tax funds to school districts.

Why a lawsuit?

Why that approach?

Well, I mean, how else do you get money that's owed to you?

The city council says so the debt to a bill collector.

Our members are the bill collectors.

>> And we filed papers this morning as Illinois Federation of Teachers to get that money back just today.

Evanston Vinton School district and they're asking their parents to volunteer because they cannot pay for crossing guards at a school district.

Give me a break.

Give us the money that you're holding.

Get your operations right in the treasurer's office.

That's an expectation.

Number 2, that governor and the General Assembly, if you can opine about calling a special session for the Chicago Bears, certainly you can call a special session when the largest school district in the state of Illinois is telling you that they're having difficulty reaching payroll because you have been given them the money that they're legally required to have in this moment, we can only rely on tips so much.

And I would tell you the billion dollars that we've received since 2024 have gone to reopen libraries at Fairfield Elementary School.

That same library is on the chopping block right now because we can't get the school funded.

So one of the going back to Maria Pappas, she said in a statement to Wt Tw news, quote.

>> No comment on pending litigation.

We've given the Chicago Board of Education more than 4.5 billion dollars.

These attacks are par for the course.

It's election season.

Well, the treasurer's office doesn't give anything they distribute the funds.

>> That the families who live in Chicago give in order for their schools to be find it.

So we're just looking for her to understand that it's back-to-school season and to make good on the money that we were supposed to get last school year.

We still have athletic directors and coaches who haven't been paid for Fauci's and of last school year and she's calling an election season.

Give me a break.

We have to prioritize what's important.

And that's offering our students a fully funded education.

>> So okay, going back to the state this year.

State budget increase the evidence-based funding amount for CPS by 350 million dollars.

Still less than what many had hoped for.

The governor has said that school funding is a priority, but the state is limited on resources.

You've mentioned the special session or the possibility of a special session in and asking lawmakers and the governor to head back to Springfield to work this out.

What if they don't?

Well, they should.

Revenues are coming in higher than expected.

>> So that taxes that they have levy for those who can pay more are actually bringing the state of Illinois more revenue.

We should consider that especially when the largest school district we have the most special education students and the state.

We have the most and how students in the state we have the most English language learning students in the state.

Those require fines and we're getting more in revenues.

It sounds like there is an opportunity to figure out how to do this for Chicago for Evanston, for places like Cicero who are laying off their teachers instead of bringing more inside of the school building.

This is a special project and it warrants a special session.

And if they don't wear should CPS, what do you think CBS should be looking to cut?

Well, I don't think you When people owe you money.

>> So you call in the dead.

And so we're calling in the day and the governor has their answer the phone that Donald Trump is doing everything in his power in this moment to remake America in yesteryear.

Our governor seems like he wants to be president.

If he wants to be president, he's going to have to have a story for America.

He's going to have to show them that he kimbro fix things that are broke in and the funding for the Chicago Public Schools and other public schools in the state.

That system, that process has been broken for a long time because we don't have the revenue for it.

A billionaire should be able to compel other billionaires to go all in for the common good.

That type of story stands in stark contrast to President Trump.

>> Ok, so shifting gears a little bit.

The entire school board entire 21 members school board will be up for election this fall.

What's at stake in this election?

Well, whether or not we make the Chicago Public schools a sustainable community school district or are we close schools and cause more harm to black Chicagoans?

Okay.

Very simple.

Donations.

A donation limits.

They have been lifted in the school board president race in which the sea to use CTU has endorsed The meeting he's currently a political director position.

You once held in CTU.

How do you anticipate CTU being involved in this campaign?

CTU wants to win the debate for the students that we serve every day in the Chicago Public schools.

>> As you know, the union that I am a member of we have been fighting for an elected school board with a coalition of partners for decades.

And we finally have this thing that we fought so hard to see.

This is about a cause or rating democracy for our schools at a time of mass internationally, we are doing this also at a time where we get to choose which Chicago public schools looks like in 20 years.

We have had a system of billionaires.

We have had a system of mayors choose to do harmful things to the public school system.

We finally have an opportunity for mothers, single mothers who need the school district to work to actually run to have a stake in making it work.

We have people who have struggled slept outside of school board meetings to have their voices heard.

People who have starved themselves in order to keep schools open.

We have an opportunity for Chicago to hear all of those stories and we have an opportunity to choose community and sustainability for our school district.

We can not talk about closing schools when we know it harm students.

It harms the school district and it harms the black communities in which they close schools.

So that conversation is off the table.

This time we get to talk about the vision for an equitable just system that we can all be responsible candidates for mayor and city council started collecting signatures today.

30 seconds left.

Stacey, you and I are not collecting What do you hope to see out a mayoral candidates?

Look, I hope to see Mayor Johnson come off the sideline and I hope to see the people who support him.

>> Get out here and pass a petition.

If he's not gonna pass what?

I'll pass one Okay.

You've got to get in at the right.

maybe we can say that we still have his back and can Joe him to get into it?

Look, I think that the city has done better.

Certainly Chicago public schools has done better where the governor has failed to find our schools.

The mayor has given us a billion dollars.

In fact, we're going to look to him again for his leadership in this moment.

And I don't think we've done better a Chicago public schools.

Then we have been under his leadership.

And so I'm going to look forward to that progress, right?

That's where we'll have to leave it.

Stacy Davis Gates, thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

Good to see you.

And on tomorrow evening's program we'll hear from the superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, Macklin King.

>> Up next, a new round of proposed tariffs on Canada.

A look at the potential impact in Illinois.

>> Education reporting on Chicago tonight is brought to