Teachers strike cuts
CPL out of *IHSA state tournaments
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The night of Oct, 8 ended on a down note for Washington. Even so, Alvara Perez was certain another act of the drama would play out.
Solorio senior star Alex Sanchez ended any hope of a Patriots’ upset with an assist and free kick goal in the second half as Solorio beat the Patriots 3-1 in the Chicago Public League tournament Oct. 8 at Lane Stadium.
“I really believe, the way the brackets are set up, we are going to see them again,” said Perez, the Washington coach.
Two nights later at Lane, Indians’ forward David Arroyo delivered his own version of a fantastic sequence with a 60th minute goal as the Indians stunned defending city champion Solorio 1-0 in the title game.
Sadly, it turned out to be the symbolic equivalent of a curtain closer for CPL.
The result of that idealized third meeting of Washington and Solorio — a possibility had both won their respective sectionals — now can only be left to speculation.
One week later, on Wednesday evening Oct. 16, the Chicago Teachers Union broke off bargaining talks and announced its members voted overwhelmingly to strike, beginning the next day.
CPL students have been out of school since that day.
The fate of the teams and their participation in the state tournament were imperiled and clung to the hope of a resolution to the strike or a unique action that would let the teams continue to play despite the labor impasse.
Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said reporters from the Chicago Tribune and WGN came to the Sun Warriors campus to interview him and his players about the ramifications of the strike.
Solorio captured the Class AA state tournament in 2017. Last year’s team reached a sectional final and finished 22-2-0.
Sanchez was ready to play out his final act as one of the greatest prep players of the decade.
Lane coach Andrew Ricks, who is also the head of the Chicago Public League Coaches Association, predicted the action a couple of days earlier.
“It’s not really about money,” Ricks said. “They are actually offering a raise. This is about social justice -- there are 17,000 homeless students in the [Chicago Public Schools] system -- about having staffing: clinicians, nurses and librarians.”
Hope reigned supreme after positive news about the negotiations leaked to the media over the weekend and signs of a potential resolution appeared possible.
On Sunday, Ricks and Young coach Ian McCarthy placed at three on a scale of 1-10 the chances of the Chicago Public League teams playing Tuesday.
On Monday, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, risking political blowback from the progression coalition that made her candidacy viable, implored the teachers to return to classes in lieu of a deal.
The union and many teachers were outraged. After staying out of the fray, Lightfoot took a larger role in the public forum, announcing the city did not have the money to fund the ambitious programs the union was seeking.
The tenor of the negotiations turned, and both sides remained at an impasse.
With no hope of a scenario that return students to school Monday, the city’s 38 schools in the Class AA and Class 3A saw their season end prematurely.
The executive board of the Illinois High School Association declined to hear an emergency appeal filed by the principals of Solorio and Alcott to permit the schools to play.
The suit argued the language of the state’s bylaws regarding its strike policy referred to “competition,” and not games, and that schools whose districts were on strike could still participate in a state series if the beginning of the tournament preceded the start of the strike.
The appeal argued the start of the tournament is technically dated to the announcement of state tournament seeds on Oct. 4.
In a statement, published in the Chicago Sun-Times, executive director Craig Anderson said “our Board did not believe an appeal merited review at this time,” citing the decision by executives with the Chicago Public Schools to cancel all sports and after school programs during the strike.
Following that announcement, all games involving Public Leagues set for regional semifinals on Tuesday and Wednesday were formally declared as forfeits.
City champion Lane was scheduled to host a high-powered Class 3A regional as part of the loaded Glenbrook South sectional. The Indians had reached their highest ranking in Chicagoland Soccer’s exclusive Top 25 poll at No. 15.
Lane was scheduled to play Maine South at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Now the Hawks and No. 4 St. Patrick, the top seed of the sectional, move straight to the regional final which has moved to 5 p.m. Saturday at Triton College in River Grove.
The loss of the city programs weakens the quality of the state tournament field, especially in Class AA. Solorio and Washington, which both won state championships in the last six years are out. Senn was a no. 1 sectional seed. Eleven city schools in Class AA were forced to forfeit Tuesday and Wednesday.
The three best teams in the Premier North — Lane, conference winner Taft and Young — also saw their seasons conclude. one. Young, which went on to finish third in the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic for the second year in a row, beat Kennedy 2-0 in the event during the first week of the season
Those same teams were forced to end their season as a double forfeit in the St. Ignatius Regional.
Soccer teams throughout the city share an unwelcome sense of loss much worse than the kind experienced at the end of an unsuccessful match.
“I was really looking forward to hosting a regional because we’d never done that before,” Ricks said. “This is very tough on the kids, and I really feel for them.
“I believe in the union and what the strike is about. The coaches at Solorio and Washington feel different, and I respectfully disagree with them. Sports are very important, but they do not supersede academics and what our schools are about.”
Editor's note: Because CPL teams have been excluded from the *IHSA state tournaments, all mentions of these postseason events will carry an asterisk.
CPL out of *IHSA state tournaments
By Patrick Z. McGavin
The night of Oct, 8 ended on a down note for Washington. Even so, Alvara Perez was certain another act of the drama would play out.
Solorio senior star Alex Sanchez ended any hope of a Patriots’ upset with an assist and free kick goal in the second half as Solorio beat the Patriots 3-1 in the Chicago Public League tournament Oct. 8 at Lane Stadium.
“I really believe, the way the brackets are set up, we are going to see them again,” said Perez, the Washington coach.
Two nights later at Lane, Indians’ forward David Arroyo delivered his own version of a fantastic sequence with a 60th minute goal as the Indians stunned defending city champion Solorio 1-0 in the title game.
Sadly, it turned out to be the symbolic equivalent of a curtain closer for CPL.
The result of that idealized third meeting of Washington and Solorio — a possibility had both won their respective sectionals — now can only be left to speculation.
One week later, on Wednesday evening Oct. 16, the Chicago Teachers Union broke off bargaining talks and announced its members voted overwhelmingly to strike, beginning the next day.
CPL students have been out of school since that day.
The fate of the teams and their participation in the state tournament were imperiled and clung to the hope of a resolution to the strike or a unique action that would let the teams continue to play despite the labor impasse.
Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said reporters from the Chicago Tribune and WGN came to the Sun Warriors campus to interview him and his players about the ramifications of the strike.
Solorio captured the Class AA state tournament in 2017. Last year’s team reached a sectional final and finished 22-2-0.
Sanchez was ready to play out his final act as one of the greatest prep players of the decade.
Lane coach Andrew Ricks, who is also the head of the Chicago Public League Coaches Association, predicted the action a couple of days earlier.
“It’s not really about money,” Ricks said. “They are actually offering a raise. This is about social justice -- there are 17,000 homeless students in the [Chicago Public Schools] system -- about having staffing: clinicians, nurses and librarians.”
Hope reigned supreme after positive news about the negotiations leaked to the media over the weekend and signs of a potential resolution appeared possible.
On Sunday, Ricks and Young coach Ian McCarthy placed at three on a scale of 1-10 the chances of the Chicago Public League teams playing Tuesday.
On Monday, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, risking political blowback from the progression coalition that made her candidacy viable, implored the teachers to return to classes in lieu of a deal.
The union and many teachers were outraged. After staying out of the fray, Lightfoot took a larger role in the public forum, announcing the city did not have the money to fund the ambitious programs the union was seeking.
The tenor of the negotiations turned, and both sides remained at an impasse.
With no hope of a scenario that return students to school Monday, the city’s 38 schools in the Class AA and Class 3A saw their season end prematurely.
The executive board of the Illinois High School Association declined to hear an emergency appeal filed by the principals of Solorio and Alcott to permit the schools to play.
The suit argued the language of the state’s bylaws regarding its strike policy referred to “competition,” and not games, and that schools whose districts were on strike could still participate in a state series if the beginning of the tournament preceded the start of the strike.
The appeal argued the start of the tournament is technically dated to the announcement of state tournament seeds on Oct. 4.
In a statement, published in the Chicago Sun-Times, executive director Craig Anderson said “our Board did not believe an appeal merited review at this time,” citing the decision by executives with the Chicago Public Schools to cancel all sports and after school programs during the strike.
Following that announcement, all games involving Public Leagues set for regional semifinals on Tuesday and Wednesday were formally declared as forfeits.
City champion Lane was scheduled to host a high-powered Class 3A regional as part of the loaded Glenbrook South sectional. The Indians had reached their highest ranking in Chicagoland Soccer’s exclusive Top 25 poll at No. 15.
Lane was scheduled to play Maine South at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Now the Hawks and No. 4 St. Patrick, the top seed of the sectional, move straight to the regional final which has moved to 5 p.m. Saturday at Triton College in River Grove.
The loss of the city programs weakens the quality of the state tournament field, especially in Class AA. Solorio and Washington, which both won state championships in the last six years are out. Senn was a no. 1 sectional seed. Eleven city schools in Class AA were forced to forfeit Tuesday and Wednesday.
The three best teams in the Premier North — Lane, conference winner Taft and Young — also saw their seasons conclude. one. Young, which went on to finish third in the 32-team Windy City Ram Classic for the second year in a row, beat Kennedy 2-0 in the event during the first week of the season
Those same teams were forced to end their season as a double forfeit in the St. Ignatius Regional.
Soccer teams throughout the city share an unwelcome sense of loss much worse than the kind experienced at the end of an unsuccessful match.
“I was really looking forward to hosting a regional because we’d never done that before,” Ricks said. “This is very tough on the kids, and I really feel for them.
“I believe in the union and what the strike is about. The coaches at Solorio and Washington feel different, and I respectfully disagree with them. Sports are very important, but they do not supersede academics and what our schools are about.”
Editor's note: Because CPL teams have been excluded from the *IHSA state tournaments, all mentions of these postseason events will carry an asterisk.