CHICAGO – The radical Chicago Teachers Union seems to have a lot of undeserved influence over popular opinion in the city.

The leaders of this self-serving organization have managed to drum up a great deal of support for their 2011 teachers strike, opposition to the closing of 50 underutilized traditional schools eight months ago, and opposition to a current plan to allow several new charter schools to open in the city.

That’s why the Chicago Board of Education deserves so much credit for voting Wednesday to authorize seven new charter schools. A total of 17 had been considered for acceptance, according to Project Illinois.

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The CTU and its allies lobbied hard against the licensing of the new charters, claiming they will drain more public resources from the city’s remaining traditional schools. They argued that it’s hypocritical for the city to close 50 traditional schools and open seven charters, and noted that numerous charter schools in Chicago are currently underutilized.

The union is missing the point in this debate. The new charters are not being offered to the public because there is a need for more schools or classroom space in Chicago. They were given the green light to offer families more school choices, period.

There are strong arguments to be made for school choice in Chicago, because the traditional schools have not been getting the job done academically for a very long time.

On the 2011 National Assessment of Academic Progress, only 33.9 percent of eighth-graders tested at or above proficiency in reading and only 32.8 percent made the mark in math. The four-year graduation rate for high school students is only around 70 percent.

According to a recent study on academic outcomes in the district, “the vast majority of Chicago Public Schools students have academic achievement levels that are far below where they need to be to graduate ready for college.”

Why shouldn’t parents have the opportunity to send their children to schools that might produce better results?

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CTU leaders seem to think that Chicago’s older public schools have some sort of inherent right to continue to exist, and first dibs on public education funding. Shouldn’t the flow of education dollars be up the parents? If a family finds a school that meets its needs, the state funding designated for its children should go to that school, whether it’s a traditional or charter school.

If enough parents choose to send their children to charter schools, the message should be clear for CPS officials: They need to do better, or they will lose most of their students and funding.

Union leaders question the quality of Chicago charter schools, suggesting that on the average they are no better than traditional schools. If that proves to be the case, there’s no doubt that parents will pull their kids out in droves and the charter schools will fail and close. Besides, the city already has a policy of closing charter schools that fail to produce positive results. Wouldn’t it be nice if the same rules applied to failing traditional schools?

Doesn’t the CTU trust Chicago parents enough to let them decide where to send their children to school? Why are they so afraid of giving parents options? Why are they so obviously terrified of competition from charter schools?

The bottom line is that most charter schools do not hire union teachers. As more kids enroll in charter schools, there won’t be a need for as many union teachers in traditional schools. That means the union won’t make as much money from union dues.

This fight is all about money and the health of the CTU’s bank account, folks. It has nothing to do with quality educational options for children.

Kudos to the Chicago Board of Education for recognizing that reality, ignoring the protests and voting in favor of school choice. The more options that parents have, the better the chance that their children will receive quality instruction.

If that somehow hurts the union’s finances, well, that’s the union’s problem. Students should not be held hostage in subpar schools just to make sure that CTU President Karen Lewis doesn’t have to take a cut from her fat-cat, six-figure salary.