--- title: Chicago Teachers Go On Strike for Public School Funding description: Thousands of Chicago teachers went on strike Friday to put pressure on the government to address insufficient public school funding. canonical: https://time.com/4279019/chicago-teacher-strike-public-school/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-01T13:34:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:24:05.177Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Chicago Teachers Go On Strike for Public School Funding og:description: Thousands of Chicago teachers went on strike Friday to put pressure on the government to address insufficient public school funding. og:url: https://time.com/4279019/chicago-teacher-strike-public-school/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb90f17cfd96618/69888d5ecf40a8f67fc42a0e/chicago-teachers-strike-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Chicago Teachers Union stages one-day walkout og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chicago Teachers Go On Strike for Public School Funding twitter:description: Thousands of Chicago teachers went on strike Friday to put pressure on the government to address insufficient public school funding. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb90f17cfd96618/69888d5ecf40a8f67fc42a0e/chicago-teachers-strike-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Thousands of Chicago Teachers Go on Strike for Better Public School Funding ## Video: Watch: Teachers Turn to Crowd-funding to Fund Preschools [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: Teachers Turn to Crowd-funding to Fund Preschools](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/On18DCVe.m3u8) (2:07)  _Published 2014-07-20. Teachers and parents in Chicago are turning to crowd-sourced online funding to get new early-learning institutions going_  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 1, 2016 1:34 PM CUT  Chicago Teachers Union member Karoline Towner holds her fist in the air while marching to Northeastern Illinois University from Roosevelt High School during a one-day strike in Chicago on April 1, 2016. Chicago Teachers Union member Karoline Towner holds her fist in the air while marching to Northeastern Illinois University from Roosevelt High School during a one-day strike in Chicago on April 1, 2016.Armando L. Sanchez—Chicago Tribune/TNS/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 1, 2016 1:34 PM CUT Thousands of Chicago teachers went on a one-day strike Friday to put pressure on the government to address insufficient public school funding. [According to the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/04/01/chicago-teachers-to-strike-friday-shutting-down-nations-third-largest-school-system/ "undefined"), the strike, organized by the Chicago Teachers Union, comes during a nine-month budget standoff between Illinois’ Republican Governor and Democratic legislature, which has left public schools, universities and state scholarships floundering without adequate funding. Contract negotiations have also stalled between the union and public school system. “It’s a shame that we’ve had to strike to make our voices heard,” union Vice President Jesse Sharkey said at a picket line at a local high school Friday morning, the Chicago _Tribune_ [wrote.](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-teachers-union-walkout-0401-20160331-story.html "undefined") “We must have revenue to fund our schools, and a broken state budget that shuts off vital social services to the people of Chicago is unacceptable.” The _Tribune_ reports that Chicago won’t punish the teachers participating in the one-day strike, but district officials are mounting legal action against what they see as an unlawful strike by the union. According to the Chicago Public Schools’ [fiscal year 2016 budget](http://cps.edu/FY16Budget/Pages/FY16Budget.aspx "undefined"), the school system is facing a $1.1 billion operating deficit. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4279019/chicago-teacher-strike-public-school/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4279019/chicago-teacher-strike-public-school/"},"headline":"Thousands of Chicago Teachers Go on Strike for Better Public School Funding","datePublished":"2016-04-01T13:34:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:24:05.177Z","description":"\"It's a shame that we've had to strike to make our voices heard\"","url":"https://time.com/4279019/chicago-teacher-strike-public-school/","keywords":["chicago","Illinois"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb90f17cfd96618/69888d5ecf40a8f67fc42a0e/chicago-teachers-strike-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cb90f17cfd96618/69888d5ecf40a8f67fc42a0e/chicago-teachers-strike-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chicago Teachers Union stages one-day walkout","caption":"Chicago Teachers Union member Karoline Towner holds her fist in the air while marching to Northeastern Illinois University from Roosevelt High School during a one-day strike in Chicago on April 1, 2016.","creditText":"Armando L. 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