From the Chicago Sun-Times:



Mayor Rahm Emanuel is preparing to “ratchet up” negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union to seal a deal needed to guarantee an on-time Sept. 4 opening of Chicago Public Schools and preserve his signature plan for a longer school day and year, City Hall sources said Thursday. “He owns this anyway, and he’s gonna need to ratchet it up to close it,” said a mayoral confidant, who asked to remain anonymous.

Does "ratcheting up" mean continuing his relationship with the Tea Party?

From Huffington Post:



In a recently released video, Chicago Teachers Union shows the games played by wealthy elites to smear the Union in the midst of heated contract negotiations. Chicago Teachers Union has maintained that it will not bargain in the press over a fair contract, but associates of Mayor Rahm Emanuel have apparently used backroom deals in Springfield, paid protesters and even members of the Michigan Tea Party to distort the public's image of the Union. The video, "Astroturf Billionaires Vs. The Chicago Teachers Union" shows all of these tricks in graphic detail.

Clip of Tea Party activist Andrew Marcus describes his relationship with the Mayor and how they worked together to make an anti-teacher video.24 minute video "Chicago Teachers Union Vs. Astroturf Billionaires" -- the story of Rahm Emanuel "racheting up" with the Tea Party, Stand for Children, and Democrats for Eduction Reform.