President of the Chicago Teachers Union, Karen Lewis, will no longer consider running for mayor, but a statement from the Karen Lewis Exploratory Committee tells supporters to not give up.
“Karen Lewis has decided to not pursue a mayoral bid. Yet she charges us to continue fighting for strong neighborhood schools, safe communities, and good jobs for everyone,” reads the statement.
According to the Chicago Tribune, she isn’t running at all because of a recently discovered cancerous brain tumor. On Oct. 6, Lewis went to the hospital after “experiencing discomfort Sunday evening,” according to a statement from the CTU. She has had surgery and is taking a break from her CTU responsibilities.
The fiery, and sometimes controversial, public education advocate, said she was “seriously” considering running for the city’s next mayor. Even though she never declared her candidacy, she still toured the city as part of her “Conversations with Karen,” to discuss issues that she believed were important. The Tribune reports that she had raised $87,000 in campaign donations.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office issued a statement on Monday: “Karen Lewis is a passionate advocate for her beliefs and has always been willing to speak up for her view of what’s best — not only for the teachers that she represents, but also for issues critical to the future of our city. Along with all Chicagoans, we will keep Karen and her family in our thoughts and prayers, and we hope to see her on her feet very soon.”
Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, described Lewis as a “dynamic leader” who has continued to advocate for “quality education for Chicago youth.” Brown said in a statement that she will keep Lewis in her prayers and wishes her a quick and full recovery.
“We certainly need Karen’s intellectual and fervent, civic activism to bring critical issues to the forefront of public awareness,” Brown said.
And Lewis’ Exploratory Committee said, “Our work is not about one leader, one race, or one election. Our work is about building progressive power to restore participatory democracy to Chicago. The groundswell of grassroots support is a testament to the strength of our movement and to the depth of dissatisfaction that hardworking Chicagoans have with the top-down, out-of-touch leadership in City Hall.”
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