Progress Illinois

A rally at Union Park brought out thousands of teachers, parents, and union supporters from Chicago, Wisconsin, Indiana and abroad as the school board and Chicago Teachers Union representatives continued to work on contract negotiations Saturday afternoon.

Union President Karen Lewis drew loud applause and chants of “Karen for Mayor” from the crowd as she took the stage at about 2:30 p.m.

Lewis said union negotiators were given a written framework for a contract on Friday, with details and completed language to be discussed on Sunday. But she said that doesn’t mean the strike is about to end.

“We are still on strike. We only have a framework for an agreement, not an agreement,” Lewis said. “Until you hear it from the CTU, we are on strike.”

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As the showdown over collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin heads through the courts, national Democrats are taking up the fight in Indiana. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) released a television ad targeting Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. The ad comes as 39 out 40 Democratic members of the Indiana house remain in Illinois, preventing anti-worker bills from moving forward. Watch the ad after the jump.
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Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill stripping Wisconsin public employees of their ability to collectively bargain despite demonstrations, plunging popularity, and polls showing a majority of his consituents opposed the legislation. But the fight over workers' rights rights in the Badger State -- and in Indiana -- continues.

There has been some talk that Walker's bill will head to the courts, where opponents could argue that in unilaterally forcing the bill through the Senate, Wisconsin Republicans violated the state's open meetings law. Members of the legal community, however, are skeptical that the tactic would work. And those calling for a lawsuit seem unlikely to get help from Democratic lawmakers. In an interview this morning on WLS, one of the Wisconsin 14, State Senator Jim Holperin said, "I think everyone in the legislature recognizes that this bill was probably legitimately passed. Until someone challenges it successfully, we've got to just believe that these rights have been eliminated." (Holperin and his 13 colleagues will rally with supporters in Madison Saturday.)

Recourse for those angered by the bill that is already on the table is a recall effort aimed at eight Senate Republicans. Progressive organizations are ramping up their efforts and gathering the necessary signatures. One group announced it raised $200,000 for their recall campaign last night alone. And recent polls show that if the recall option is put to the voters, there's a good chance it will pass in at least some of the senate districts.

The dramatics in Wisconsin understandably dominated the headlines over the past few days, but let's not forget about the ongoing stand-off over workers' rights in Indiana. Thousands marched in Indianapolis yesterday in support of union members as Assembly Democrats continued their protests from Urbana. The leader of the Indiana Democrats said the legislators have no plans to return to the Hoosier State in the near future.

In a new report for WBEZ, Michael Puente looks at how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is affecting the debate over BP's ever-expanding refinery in Whiting, Indiana -- just across the Illinois border on Lake Michigan.  At one point, he quotes the Natural Resources Defense Council's Ann Alexander putting the Whiting expansion in context:

"It’s difficult to say what specific impact the Gulf spill will have on BP Whiting. What we do know in both cases is that BP very sharply and steeply cut corners. They cut corners on the environment and safety in order to enhance the speed of their projects and the profit that they expected to make. In both cases the results are severely problematic to say the least."

You can learn more about how they "cut corners" here.