NBC Chicago – The biggest hurdle during last month’s Chicago teacher strike was the tentative deal reached by the teachers union and school district to end seven days of picketing and send kids back to class.

Now comes the next step: To make the deal official, teachers must vote to ratify the new contract. They’ll cast that key vote Tuesday before and after school.

Votes on the 197-page contract will be tallied immediately, and the vote will be made public on Thursday. To ratify the contract, the teachers need a simple majority.

When asked which way she thinks the vote will go, CTU President Karen Lewis said it’s up to the teachers.

“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Lewis said after casting her ballot at Dyett High School. “I’m a person that believes what will happen will happen, but I don’t make predictions.”
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