WSIL � Friday, a typical press conference in Chicago turned into a bit of an embarrassment for Gov. Bruce Rauner as Chicago teachers showed up to call him out on an old email.
The Chicago Tribune received old emails from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office after a court ruled the Tribune should have access. Those emails were delivered on Thursday and in one, from 2011, Rauner made some unpleasant comments.
“Half of Chicago Public Schools� teachers ‘are virtually illiterate� and half of the city’s principals are ‘incompetent,� the Tribune reported.
So when the governor went to sign two bills regarding education, teachers showed up to protest.
“We are teachers and we are not illiterate,� one teacher said, interrupting Rauner’s speech. “We challenge you to a read-out. Books and literature on educational justice and civil rights. Will you accept the challenge? It’s important that we educate you about what we really do every day because obviously you don’t really know,� he said.
And one by one, several teachers stood up and “read� statistics from books about Illinois education and their dismay for the governor and were then escorted out by an officer.
“I apologized for the statement that I made in that email in 2011. The remarks were inaccurate and intemperate and I apologize to the teachers and I regret those comments,� Rauner said.
