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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Hundreds rally against Trump administration at ‘Good Trouble' Loop gathering
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated against President Donald Trump and his administration's policies in the Loop on Thursday as part of nationwide 'Good Trouble Lives On' rallies, decrying cuts to social services, mass deportation strategy and restrictions on civil liberties. A group of about 60 demonstrators left Federal Plaza about 4:30 p.m., chanting 'Trump must go now' as they marched up Dearborn Street before joining a larger main crowd at Daley Plaza a half hour later. The chain of national protests denouncing Trump's agenda was named for a term coined by the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who died in 2020. A civil rights activist, Lewis also participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides, which aimed to end racial segregation in the South. Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of Lewis' death. Organizers planned about 20 other 'Good Trouble' rallies in the suburbs, including Naperville and Highland Park. Nationwide, more than 1,000 similar protests were held, according to the 'Good Trouble Lives On' website. Among the rally attendees were the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates. Johnson told the crowd that America under Trump was making an 'alarming and fast descent into authoritarianism,' but vowed that Chicago would fight back. He also repeated a pledge that the city would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'There are times when we have to march forward, even when it's difficult, even when the risks are real,' he said. 'Let me tell you that time is now. Tonight, we follow in the footsteps of making good trouble. Trouble that will engender confidence across this country that 'liberty and justice' for all is not just a tagline.' Protesters carried signs that read 'Dump Trump' and 'Dissent is Patriotic,' while a person in a taco suit, cape and crown danced around an inflatable baby Donald Trump. 'The standards of people who are running America right now are very low,' said Samantha Oliva, 22. 'I guess you can commit crimes, you can lie.' Carrying a sign that read 'Morons Are Governing America,' a play on the Trump slogan 'Make America Great Again,' Oliva said she hoped this protest would inspire more Gen Zers to take civic action against the administration. 'Community is everything with someone plotting against you guys,' Oliva said, referring to what she called Trump's actions to sow division among Americans. 'We're stronger together.' National Education Association President Becky Pringle spoke about opposition to federal restrictions on diversity initiatives and the administration's 'intimidation of immigrant families.' 'We must and we will get in the way of the structural inequalities that are purposefully designed to sacrifice the common good of the many.' While Joan Javier-Duval, a Unitarian minister from Montpelier, Vermont, was in town to visit family, she said she looked for ways to participate in Thursday's protests. A Chicago native, Javier-Duval has attended several protests since Trump's inauguration, calling cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and increased funding for ICE particularly worrying. She said that many in her Vermont community have relied on emergency funds after severe flooding, and she also opposes ICE's deprivation of due process for immigrants. 'An event like this is important to show that we can come together across different communities and different issues,' she said. 'All to say that what we want is for our people to be taken care of and for our democracy to thrive.' Hermosa resident and Navy veteran Eligio Alvarado said he came to Thursday's protest because Trump and his 'ilk' were 'dismantling America,' in part by gutting government programs and replacing public servants. 'They're putting in their cronies who will march to their tune,' said Alvarado, who is originally from Puerto Rico. Unless something changes, Alvarado said, he would 'have fought for naught.' Similar to Javier-Duval, he said he hoped the protests would motivate voters and shift momentum toward Democrats who hope to retake Congress. 'This gives me hope,' he said.
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Antisemitism and the Teachers Union
Anti-Israel and anti-American radicals have set college campuses afire in the past two years. In too many places, they turned quads into combat zones, harassed Jewish students in dorms, and shut down debate in classrooms. Now we have a new, even more terrifying problem: The radicals are turning their sights on K-12 classrooms. Last week the National Education Association used its annual conference to adopt a measure that effectively prevents the union's members from 'using, endorsing or publicizing' any educational materials created by the Anti-Defamation League, one of the oldest and leading Jewish organizations in America. For decades ADL curricula has been the gold standard for helping students understand and navigate the complex issues of bigotry and prejudice. Our peer-reviewed programs have helped educators instruct pupils about how bias can grow and mutate over time if left unchecked. We developed our Holocaust education offering, 'Echoes and Reflections,' in collaboration with Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the USC Shoah Foundation. It offers lessons on the Holocaust and its eternal resonance for all people. One of our main educational offerings, 'No Place for Hate,' is a student-led program used in more than 2,000 schools across the U.S. every year. Through classroom content and extracurricular activities, the program offers a message of inclusion that is entirely apolitical. It's designed solely to bring students together to better understand the differences that too often divide us. Against this backdrop, the NEA's move is both insidious and vindictive. This wasn't about the ADL. It was a clear and unambiguous statement to Jewish educators, parents and children: You don't count. And it perversely takes this stance at a time when anti-Jewish hate is skyrocketing.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Largest teachers union slams ‘unlawful' cuts to Department of Education after supreme court ruling
The president of the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, slammed the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday for siding with the Trump administration on dismantling the Department of Education. 'Everyone who cares about America's students and public schools should be appalled by the Supreme Court's premature intervention in this case today, which stays preliminary relief ordered by the lower courts. Today's decision does not resolve the underlying merits of Trump's unlawful plan to eliminate the Department of Education,' Becky Pringle said in a statement. Advertisement She added, 'Parents, educators, and community leaders won't be silent as Trump and his allies take a wrecking ball to public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America. We will continue to organize, advocate, and mobilize until all students have the opportunity to attend the well-resourced public schools where they can thrive.' 5 Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, speaks during an immigrant rights protest outside of the Department of Justice headquarters. Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images 5 The president of the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, slammed the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday. 5 Protestors holding signs in front of the U.S. Department of Education building. Advertisement The Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to fire hundreds of Department of Education employees, a move that advances President Donald Trump's plans to dismantle the department. The high court's decision in McMahon v. State of New York was issued 6-3 along ideological lines. The decision temporarily pauses an order by a lower court judge that had reinstated roughly 1,400 employees at the Department of Education. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid off half of the department's workforce as part of the Trump administration's broader reduction in government efforts. Later that month, Trump announced in an executive order that he planned to shutter the department altogether. 5 The Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to fire hundreds of Department of Education employees. Advertisement 5 The decision temporarily pauses an order by a lower court judge that had reinstated roughly 1,400 employees at the Department of Education. The Supreme Court's order arose from two lawsuits, including one brought by 20 Democratic-led states that challenged the Education Department's layoffs and planned closure. McMahon praised the ruling, vowing that the federal agency can now 'carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to return education back to the states.' Advertisement 'Today, the Supreme Court again confirmed the obvious: the President of the United States, as the head of the Executive Branch, has the ultimate authority to make decisions about staffing levels, administrative organization, and day-to-day operations of federal agencies,' McMahon said on X. 'While today's ruling is a significant win for students and families, it is a shame that the highest court in the land had to step in to allow President Trump to advance the reforms Americans elected him to deliver using the authorities granted to him by the U.S. Constitution.'
Fox News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Largest teachers union slams 'unlawful' cuts to Department of Education after Supreme Court ruling
The president of the nation's largest teachers' union, the National Education Association, slammed the Supreme Court's ruling on Monday for siding with the Trump administration on dismantling the Department of Education. "Everyone who cares about America's students and public schools should be appalled by the Supreme Court's premature intervention in this case today, which stays preliminary relief ordered by the lower courts. Today's decision does not resolve the underlying merits of Trump's unlawful plan to eliminate the Department of Education," Becky Pringle said in a statement. She added, "Parents, educators, and community leaders won't be silent as Trump and his allies take a wrecking ball to public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America. We will continue to organize, advocate, and mobilize until all students have the opportunity to attend the well-resourced public schools where they can thrive." The Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to fire hundreds of Department of Education employees, a move that advances President Donald Trump's plans to dismantle the department. The high court's decision in McMahon v. State of New York was issued 6-3 along ideological lines. The decision temporarily pauses an order by a lower court judge that had reinstated roughly 1,400 employees at the Department of Education. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon laid off half of the department's workforce as part of the Trump administration's broader reduction in government efforts. Later that month, Trump announced in an executive order that he planned to shutter the department altogether. The Supreme Court's order arose from two lawsuits, including one brought by 20 Democratic-led states that challenged the Education Department's layoffs and planned closure. McMahon praised the ruling, vowing that the federal agency can now "carry out the reduction in force to promote efficiency and accountability and to return education back to the states." "Today, the Supreme Court again confirmed the obvious: the President of the United States, as the head of the Executive Branch, has the ultimate authority to make decisions about staffing levels, administrative organization, and day-to-day operations of federal agencies," McMahon said on X. "While today's ruling is a significant win for students and families, it is a shame that the highest court in the land had to step in to allow President Trump to advance the reforms Americans elected him to deliver using the authorities granted to him by the U.S. Constitution."
Fox News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
NEA teachers union member was told fighting Trump more crucial than reading and writing: Report
Print Close By Joshua Nelson Published July 15, 2025 A teachers' union member was reportedly told that fighting against President Donald Trump was more important than teaching reading and writing at this year's annual National Education Association meeting. According to the Free Press, a convention delegate from Texas summarized the National Education Association's "new business items" as having more political motives. "[O]ne convention delegate from Texas summarized them by telling me the response that a friend of hers got while trying to talk to other union members about the best ways to teach reading and writing," the Free Press reported. "We don't have time for that. We've got to fight Trump," her friend was told. SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER NATION'S LARGEST TEACHERS' UNION MISSPELLS 'FASCISM' IN ANTI-TRUMP AGENDA ITEM When the Free Press asked the NEA for comment, the union directed them toward a "number of previous statements, including the convention speech by Becky Pringle, a former middle-school teacher who is now the NEA president," stating, "We must use our power to take action that leads, action that liberates, action that lasts." The National Education Association did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. The National Education Association held their annual Representative Assembly meeting from July 3rd to July 6th. TEACHERS UNION REVEALS TRUE COLORS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AT ANNUAL CONVENTION The business items the teachers union approved include defending "democracy against Trump's embrace of fascism by using the term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump's program and actions" and opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement's "kidnapping of student leaders" and support for "students' right to organize against ICE raids and deportations." Another item was to support the nationwide "No Kings" protests in participation of "the mass democratic movement against Trump's authoritarianism and violations of human rights." In January, the National Education Association released guidelines to help schools prepare for immigration authorities after Trump rescinded the law that prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement from entering sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals. Pringle has always been vocal in her criticism of the Trump administration and previously disavowed Trump's immigration crackdown and endorsed former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. The Free Press report also claimed that union members who asked about standing up for Jewish teachers received an unfriendly response at the meeting. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The person from Texas who was at this year's meeting told The Free Press the focus was "politics, sex and gender." "When delegates get up on stage, they tell you that they're political," the delegate told The Free Press. "These things did not just happen overnight. People just haven't been paying attention." Print Close URL
