CHICAGO (AP) — Negotiators were back behind closed doors Tuesday on the second day of Chicago's teachers strike, but publicly the teachers union and school board couldn't even agree on whether they were close to a deal.

The union issued a statement at midday saying negotiators had returned to the bargaining table and were discussing one of the most serious remaining issues, a new teacher evaluation system. But the union said it had signed off on only six of 48 articles in the contract and that the two sides had "a considerable way to go."

"To say that this contract will be settled today is lunacy," union President Karen Lewis said at one of several sites around the city where teachers gathered to chant and wave placards.