The most unpopular mayor in modern Chicago history retreated when confronted with the threat of another strike by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Late on October 10, teachers won a tentative agreement meeting many, though not all, of their demands, hours before they were ready to hit the picket lines for the third time in four years.

CTU members have been fighting for a new contract for nearly a year and a half, facing relentless demands for drastic concessions from the tag team of Democratic mayor Rahm Emanuel and Republican Illinois governor Bruce Rauner. But despite threats and underhanded tactics, the teachers stayed strong.

The CTU rank and file voted twice, by an overwhelming margin, to authorize a walkout; went out on a one-day strike, in alliance with other public-sector unions and social justice organizations, that the city deemed illegal; and headed into the new school year preparing, as they did in 2012, for another all-out battle for a fair contract.