Friday, August 15, 2014

Something about this woman makes me feel uneasy about the future of our city.

Karen Lewis Defends Six-Figure Salary: 'I'm Not Going to Apologize For It'

The fiery Chicago Teachers Union boss affirms she's "solidly middle class"

View Comments (
)
|
Email
|
Print
http://media.nbcbayarea.com/images/Karen_Lewis_8-13.jpg
8/13/2014: Karen Lewis answers questions about her over $200 thousand dollar a year income and real estate holdings. NBC 5's Mary Ann Ahern reports.
Chicago Teachers Union boss Karen Lewis is defending her six-figure salary and three homes -- one of which is in Hawaii -- as "solidly middle class."
The Sun-Times reports that Lewis, who frequently busts Mayor Rahm Emanuel for hanging out with rich people like himself, commands a combined salary of $201,047 for her CTU position as well as her union gig as executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. (Emanuel, meanwhile, earns $216,200. But he's got millions in his bank account.)
According to the paper, Lewis and her retired teacher husband own a Hawaiian condo, which they bought several years ago for $240,000, in addition to their home in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood, purchased in 2007 for $405,000. She and her sister share ownership of a vacation property in Union Pier, Mich., priced at $305,000.
"I don’t live extravagantly. But if you look just at the numbers, then, absolutely, I am in the 5 percent," she tells the paper. “We are comfortable. We are not poor. We have never been poor. Does that mean I don’t have the pulse of (the poor)? I don’t live in luxury. I don’t hang out with wealthy people. I have always been solidly middle class. You cannot put me in the same class with Rahm Emanuel or Bruce Rauner."
(Good point. You can't accuse Karen of collecting nine homes that include a gazillion-acre ranch in Big Sky Country.)
As for her CTU salary -- she makes a base of $136,890 -- Lewis makes no apologies. Lewis' previous vow not to earn more than Chicago's highest-paid teacher relates to the school year, not her 24-7 full-time post, she explains.
"I’m not going to apologize for it. I don’t think that’s wrong," she asserts. "I did what we are told to do. You are supposed to go to school, become educated. I have an Ivy League diploma. I have two master’s degrees. I’m a board-certified teacher.”

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous8/15/2014

    I like Rahm

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8/15/2014

    She's solidly socialist too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8/15/2014

    Democrats don't think they "have to apologize for it". If you own ONE home in Hyde Park you are not middle class as most people understand the term. If you own TWO homes you are definitely UPPER middle class for sure....if you own THREE ?? Hmmm. Typical Socialist Overlord. Remember that the Communist leadership in Russia preached the same equality for all..and preached of the virtues of the common mans lifestyle....all the while living in luxurious homes and eating the finest foods unavailable to the masses. She is a scary and unbalanced radical All you Union Home members who hate Rahm and want him out.....just remember who might replace him.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8/15/2014

    She seems truly unbalanced mentally. Any middle aged, red strike shirt wearing 19th Ward Teachers Union disciple....she is your leader ? She is a loon. And your VP of the CTU is a guy who is an upfront Socialist. You CTU members need to clean house.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous8/15/2014

    What about the reporter? What's her income. How many homes does she have?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8/17/2014

      The reporter is not running around telling everyone she is just a middle class average gal. The point is that Lewis is a major hypocrite. Her income(s) are taken from the public treasury and from forced union dues. She lives well above those she seeks to serve. Fraud. Oh forgot ...also a kook. If you are a school teacher and do not realize how awful a representative she is to the rest of the 99 percenters (those not on the public dime) you need to wake up. We may smiling0when you complain and rant about how hard it is for you to work 9 months a year for $70k plus benefits. We may not be arguing with you. But do you ever notice we don't have much to say about your situation. If you don't like it just go into the private sector. Stop complaining already. Next time one of you red shirt teachers start up I am going to just interrupt you with a personal anecdote from my life...and when I finish...if you start up again I will just interrupt again with another one...and on and on. Maybe then you will get the picture.

      Delete