Mayor Rahm Emanuel has suspended his efforts to fundraise for the Obama-affiliated Super PAC, Priorities USA, as Chicago teachers strike.
Politico reports Emanuel has canceled an appearance at a Chicago fundraiser and is not making other commitments right now:
"Everything is on hold at this moment," Tom Bowen, head of Emanuel’s political operation, told POLITICO in an email.
There are "no plans at this time" to reschedule his scheduled appearance for House Majority PAC, said Andy Stone, a spokesman for the super PAC. The fundraiser, reported last week by POLITICO, will proceed Monday at a Chicago steakhouse without Emanuel, Stone said.
The Financial Times reported Monday that Priorities USA plans to raise up to $150 million before the election, tapping major Democratic donors like David Geffen, Haim Saban, and Oprah Winfrey.
Negotiations between the teachers' union and city officials are ongoing, after the teachers' union went on strike Monday.
White House press secretary Jay Carney declined to comment on the stand-off Monday during a press briefing.
"We certainly haven’t expressed an opinion on how it should be resolved," Carney said. "We’re urging the sides to resolve it."
Despite the reticence on the part of the White House on the situation, in 2008, President Obama made a video statement to the American Federation of Teachers and gave the Chicago Teachers Union a shout out.