BLITZER: Public schools are empty for a second day in Chicago, and the pressure is clearly building for the city and the teachers union to reach an agreement. Parents are scrambling to find alternatives for 350,000 idle students. Our own Ted Rowlands is in Chicago. He's surrounded by some protesting teachers. Ted, what are the main sticking points right now?</s>TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it depends on who you talk to. According to the school district, there are only a couple of it. They have to do with merit pay scenarios and rehiring teachers after schools are closed. But talked to the union and they say there are a list of things that still haven't been ironed out in the excess of 12 or 13 points. Bottom line here, while a lot of people thought this was going to be maybe a one to two-day strike, the way things have gone so far today, it looks though it may be a lot longer than two or three days. I'm surrounded by thousands of teachers right now in downtown Chicago marching through the streets. Two things that did happen today, one is the district has come up with a plan to extend the hours of those schools that are open during the strike. That won't start until Thursday. And the other thing, Wolf, is they are talking about possibly taking off the offer that is currently on the table. If that happens, it's back to square one. But they are negotiating at this hour. And they have continued to negotiate through this process. Whether or not that changes, we'll have to wait and see.</s>BLITZER: Ted Rowlands, surrounded by a lot of teachers out there on strike. Let's hope they resolve this quickly. Thank you. In today's strategy session, the presidential debate's only a few weeks away. Our new poll shows voters have much lower expectations for one of the candidates.
Pressure Builds for Strike Agreement