Unions, Family Hold Vigil Remembering CPS Worker Who Tragically Died of COVID-19

Local 73 and the Chicago Teachers Union joined the family of jonL Bush and the Carnegie Elementary School community for a candlelight vigil honoring his life. Mr. Bush, a beloved and well-respected Special Education Classroom Assistant, died tragically on November 26 from COVID-19.

Dette and Ceres Jonelle Bush, jonL’s younger sisters, stood together surrounded by family and a crowd of supporters holding candles that glowed in the night. Dette, a substitute teacher who worked at Carnegie, said: “My brother loved his job and the kids. I could never come back to this building because he is in every brick of this building. He loved this place and this was his home away from home.”

“It is the job of people in political power and leadership not to blame working class people, but to actually invest, lift them up, and provide for them so they feel protected from a pandemic,” said Illinois State Senator Robert Peters. “Nobody should have to struggle and lose their life like this.”

During the vigil, speakers mourned Mr. Bush’s death and demanded that Chicago Public Schools take immediate action to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Those demands include implementing a metric for operational pause, hosting vaccination events for students and families, increasing COVID-19 testing, thoroughly disinfecting the school, filling custodial vacancies, and repairing broken custodial equipment.

“Mr. Bush did not have to die from COVID-19.” said Dian Palmer, President of Local 73. “I’m calling on the leadership of Chicago – the Mayor and anyone else at the Board of Education that has some authority – to step in and protect these employees. […] Let’s step up and do our part.”

“This didn’t have to be, because all you had to do is give us layers of mitigation. You don’t walk past a hand sanitizer and get air in a pandemic. You don’t walk in a classroom and not see cleanliness in a pandemic, and a non-pandemic,” said CTU Vice President Stacey Davis Gates. “We should not have to beg and mourn for dignity, respect, and safety.”

Carnegie and other schools across Chicago are struggling with an increase in COVID-19 cases and a desperate lack of safety. According to Carnegie staff, eight classrooms are in quarantine this week. Another Local 73 member at the school has also tested positive for COVID-19.