As I light my pipe, take up my quill pen and sheepskin and once again prepare to write another volume of The Kassopedia — the repository of the world's great knowledge — I'm reminded of a snarky reader.

From Mayor Rahm Emanuel's prepared statement:

As delegates head for 2nd vote on strike, high expectations have made it hard to reach consensusChicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and the union's other top brass have spent months fueling their membership's anger through street marches, meeting sit-ins and hostile rhetoric as negotiations for a new contract have dragged on.

Emanuel calls the walkout 'illegal' and pledges to seek court order to stop it What was thought to be a done deal unraveled Sunday as Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis was unable to sell union delegates on ending the teachers strike, likely leaving more than 350,000 Chicago Public Schools students locked out of the classroom at least two more days.

When Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis led her members out on strike this week, she said real school would be closed.

Union President Karen Lewis forged her confrontational style in the classroomEven as a chemistry teacher in Chicago Public Schools, Karen Lewis made her students work hard to find answers, according to one of her former principals.

Mayor, union president have much to lose (or gain) if walkout happens MondayIf Chicago teachers go on strike Monday, the walkout would set up a political minefield for both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, adding the explosive element of a blame game to contract negotiations that already are highly combustible.

Handbook offers advocacy strategies that can help prevent problemsMost people know they should have an advocate with them when they go into the hospital. But they don't know how to be a good advocate for others. Karen Curtiss isn't a health care professional, but a former marketing consultant and mother of four who started CampaignZERO in 2009 to provide consumers with the strategies and checklist...

For some, memories are embodied in Children's Memorial, which will soon closeStanding at the revolving door, Karen Havis took a breath, walked tentatively into the lobby of Children's Memorial Hospital, then began to revisit the rooms where her daughter had spent so much of her life until, one day nine years ago, her doctors allowed her to go home to die.

The mood was festive at the Genesis Center in downtown Gary over the weekend as Karen Freeman-Wilson was sworn in as mayor, but in the estimation of many observers, she and her city are on borrowed time.

Outspoken CTU president says she won't quit, despite criticismChicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis was back at the lectern Wednesday to clarify some incendiary remarks and stamp out a firestorm of her own creation.

Teachers union leader calls education secretary after video surfaces of her making fun of his lispChicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis on Monday called U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to apologize for making a joke about Duncan's lisp in a talk with teachers union leadership in Seattle last month.

Layoffs, elimination of vacancies mean Chicago has shed nearly 10,000 positions in a decade Caroline Broeren reads to children during story hour at Wrightwood-Ashburn Library. Robert Steward provides clinical therapy for mentally ill patients in Englewood. And Karen Murtagh may be on the other end of the line when you call 911.

Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board says enough evidence to 'consider' requesting intervention; final ruling to come in DecemberAs the political fight over a longer school day heats up, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis is asking a state labor relations board to take the issue to court, which could block more schools from extending their days and perhaps cancel longer days for sc...

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said her schedule is booked for next week.

Broadview arrangement clouds campaign disclosure reportsU.S. Rep. Danny Davis, state Rep. Karen Yarbrough and a township Democratic organization operated for years out of a village-owned building in near-west suburban Broadview.

The Chicago Teachers Union attacked Chicago Public Schools' efforts to lengthen the school day Friday by filing a complaint of unfair labor practices and accusing Mayor Rahm Emanuel of cursing and yelling at CTU President Karen Lewis during an earlier meeting on the topic.

Old-school educator and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis standing up to City HallThe woman who once promised a boxing match with Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the rights of teachers and the hearts of Chicago's public school children is getting up off the mat.

Chicago Teachers Union president

With negotiations over rescinded teacher raises to resume next week, Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis expounded Tuesday on her position regarding longer school days.

Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis says the threat of a teachers strike this year is "very high."

Even if agreement were reached, unlikely to begin in September, experts sayChicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis met Tuesday, and one of the topics on the table was a longer school day.

As budget hearings begin this week, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis says the district's proposed property tax increase is a "Band-Aid" approach to fixing its funding woes.

Incoming schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard had his first meeting with Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis Monday, and here's the good news--neither was wearing boxing gloves.

Last month when the Illinois Senate passed an education reform bill, Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis spoke in support of the measure.

'Guardian angels were watching me,' she saidKaren Begg was stepping aboard her Metra train as usual Thursday morning when the doors suddenly closed on her, grabbing hold of her left arm and the cane that was in her hand.

Missionaries plan to spend 10 months of year working with at-risk Russian kids: 'I know that this is where I am supposed to be'Adopted as an infant, Karen Mead says she has a special kinship with all the children she has encountered in Russian orphanages over the last decade — dozens of them.

It is not unusual for patients to ask Dr. Karen Wu if she is strong enough to perform surgery.

New labor president faces threat of layoffs, larger class sizes Incoming Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis promised a vigorous stand against proposed job cuts and class size increases and said the union would produce its own answers to the district's money troubles.

Frustrations over E-verify worker system have spawned high-tech solutions Because she was born in Chicago, Karen Peisker never imagined her bosses at United Parcel Service would suddenly question her right to legally work in the country.