A thread of optimism
ran through Thursday, the fourth day of the Chicago teachers’ strike,
as both the union and the school board hinted that a deal could be
reached by Friday, with a possibility of children heading back to school
as early as Monday.
That optimism also extended to yet another downtown
rally that brought an estimated 3,000 picketing teachers and supporters
outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel at 151 E. Wacker late Thursday
afternoon.
Later, the group, lead by a marching band from Morgan
Park High School, rallied at a park near Congress Parkway and Michigan
Avenue.
There, speakers railed against Chicago School Board member Penny Pritzker, who they say received $5.2 million in TIF – tax increment financing
– dollars for a Hyde Park Hotel. The Pritzker family owns the Hyatt
Hotel chain. Recently, a group of Chicago teachers called for Penny
Pritzker to step down from the school board.
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The top of the Chicago Public Schools strike contingency plan 
A 
The Chicago Teachers Union strike could have a national impact in at
least two key ways. It could reshape an increasingly confrontational
relationship between elected officials and public employees. And the
walkout could alter education policy, either disrupting the movement
toward charter schools and test-based teacher evaluations – or ending
concerted opposition to these programs. 
The Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates are being presented with the "outlines of an agreement" today, according to the Chicago Tribune, and could vote as soon as Sunday on whether or not it's time to end the strike.