Tony Preckwinkle and Karen Lewis Didn't Wear Sashes During the Parade, Either...

A few more data points for those of you keeping score at home on who was wearing a sash during the Mexican Independence Day Parade yesterday in Chicago.

Here's a shot of Cook County President Tony Preckwinkle and Chicago Teacher's Union Boss Karen Lewis.  Guess what?  No sashes.

So...let's summarize:

Cook County President Tony Preckwinkle.  Nope.  No sash.
CTU Prez Karen Lewis.  Nope.  No sash.
Mayoral hopeful and current Alderman Bob Fioretti. Nope. No sash.
US Senator Dick Durbin? Nope. No sash.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel? Nope. No sash.
Governor Pat Quinn? Nope. No sash.

But...Mike Frerichs?  The guy who is known to so desperate to be a considered a 'big boy' in Illinois politics and Democrat circles?  You guessed it.  He rocked the sash.

Just like European Royalty!

Texts From The Illinois Campaign Trail: Karen Lewis & The Guy She Calls "Stretch"

Looks like we've intercepted another text message from an Illinois politician.  This time, it appears to be an interaction between CTU President Karen Lewis and Democrat candidate for Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs - who Lewis calls "Stretch" which is cute.

She clearly takes umbrage with Frerichs parading around with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a fundraiser tonight.

CTU Boss Karen Lewis Has Two Vacation Homes, Claims She's "Middle Class"

Give the Truth Team a home in Union Pier (although...we'll be honest...we'd prefer New Buffalo!) and a home in Hawaii and a $200K annual salary and you'd never hear from us again.

But...Chicago Teacher's Union Boss Karen Lewis?  She's check all those boxes (the $200K annual salary, the two vacation homes), but she still insists that she's 'middle class'.

Now...listen...we're not ones to play the class warfare card, but we can't help but see the irony here.

Chicago Teachers Union boss Karen Lewis is defending her six-figure salary and three homes -- one of which is in Hawaii -- as "solidly middle class." 

The Sun-Times reports that Lewis, who frequently busts Mayor Rahm Emanuel for hanging out with rich people like himself, commands a combined salary of $201,047 for her CTU position as well as her union gig as executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. (Emanuel, meanwhile, earns $216,200. But he's got millions in his bank account.) 

According to the paper, Lewis and her retired teacher husband own a Hawaiian condo, which they bought several years ago for $240,000, in addition to their home in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood, purchased in 2007 for $405,000. She and her sister share ownership of a vacation property in Union Pier, Mich., priced at $305,000.