Protesters Picket Brookins Fundraiser, Ask Him To Back Ordinance
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Several dozen students, teachers and union members picketed Tuesday at a fundraiser for the chair of the City Council's Education Committee.
The protesters say Ald. Howard Brookins Jr., of the 21st Ward, stands in the way of a proposed ordinance, that a majority of other aldermen back, that would commit up to $150 million dollars in excess tax increment financing district money to the cash-starved schools, WBBM's Bob Roberts reports.
Drummond Montessori's Julieta Riesco said they staged their noisy picket to occur just as people began to arrive for Brookins' fundraiser in the trendy Fulton Market.
"We're here to show him," Riesco said. "We need to talk with him. We need him to come to the table and talk to us."
Tickets for the Brookins fundraiser cost backers anywhere from $50 to $2,500.
Riesco said she has to beg parents to provide Kleenex and classroom supplies.
Most of those who picketed were students from Kelly High School and other schools in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
