33rd Ward Staff – Page 22 – Rossana Rodriguez

On the picket lines supporting our teachers

Today my son and I walked the picket line with his teachers and staff, as well as those at our other neighborhood schools. Everywhere we went, neighbors were honking their horns in support. Parents dropped off coffee and donuts, and neighborhood restaurants donated food to make sure students didn't go without. As a former teacher myself, I know how hard the job is--especially when our schools don't have the resources they need. Teachers and staff are striking because they believe that we need one librarian, one social worker, and one nurse in every school. They are striking because strong schools withContinue

September Legislative Update

At this week's City Council meeting, I introduced an ordinance that would reinstate the corporate head tax eliminated under Rahm Emanuel. Under this ordinance, which could generate as much as $100 million annually, businesses with more than 50 employees would pay an additional monthly per-employee tax. There would be exemptions for employees in neighborhoods struggling with high crime and unemployment. A renewed corporate head tax is part of a suite of progressive revenue options a group of City Council colleagues and I are backing that could generate as much as $4.5 billion annually. As the Sun-Times put it, "that would be enough to wipe outContinue

July Legislative Update

City Council met on Wednesday for an especially busy and productive session. I'm committed to making sure everyone I represent knows what pieces of legislation--big and small--I'm supporting, and you can check out my full voting record so far here. I also want to give members of the community an overview of some of the key measures I'm pushing for, and what they would do. This week, we: -We passed the Fair Workweek Ordinance, which will require large employers to give their workers advance notice of their work schedules and compensate them for last-minute changes. This will help low-wage workers who struggleContinue