Chicago, Illinois (AP) - The Chicago Teachers Union president says a deal to end the city's first teachers strike in 25 years is close, but she's pushed back her timeline a bit.
Just hours after predicting students could be back in class by Friday, Karen Lewis said it might be Monday instead. She spoke to reporters Thursday morning on her way into negotiations.
Negotiators say they made substantial progress the night before. Lewis says signing off on a final proposal would require a meeting by union delegates and that could take some time. The bargaining ended shortly before midnight Wednesday, and both sides agreed that they had got closer to a settlement.
The optimism was echoed on the picket lines Thursday, four days after roughly 25,000 teachers went on strike.
Former Rochester City Schools Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard is now the CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
