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Child Safety
Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
1:41pm
Thu May 16

Protesters Say Woodlawn School Actions Endanger Students, Hold "Die In" To Show Area Violence

In the Woodlawn neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Cottage Grove Ave. serves as the dividing line between two violent gang territories, according to area residents.

And concerned community members say a Chicago Public Schools’ proposal to close John Fiske Elementary and send its students to Austin Sexton Elementary means students will be forced to to travel across the invisible barrier.

Cottage Grove, according to the proposal’s opponents, is a boundary not to be taken lightly.

“That’s a line you just don’t cross,” said Randy Pouncy, 22, a Sexton Elementary alumnus who said he’s been shot at too many times to count. “It’s so dangerous.”

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Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
12:47pm
Thu May 16
3 comments

Brighton Park Students Gather To Discuss Gang Violence, Ways To Unite The Community (VIDEO)

In the interest of fostering a broad educational community in one of Chicago’s most gang-ridden Southwest Side neighborhoods, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) hosted its annual Youth Summit at Loyola University Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m so proud of myself,” said Danny Zamudio, 14, an 8th grade student at Nathan Davis Elementary School. “I’ve evolved because of this, I think I have a stronger character and I’ve become a better speaker.”

Zamudio was one of 23 youth leaders to help plan and lead a day of workshops for 325 seventh and eighth grade students from six Brighton Park schools. Called “Teen Life 101”, the fourth annual five-hour summit focused on social issues that, according to organizers, are not taught enough in the classroom.

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Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
2:58pm
Tue May 14

Chicago Teachers Union To Ramp Up Protests Against Proposed School Closings (VIDEO)

Vowing to keep up the fight to stop a Chicago Public Schools’ proposal to close more than 50 schools, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis unveiled plans Monday for protests that will include three days of marches beginning this weekend.

Lewis, who was joined by parents as well as neighborhood and labor activists, held a press conference in front of William & Charles H. Mayo Elementary School on the city’s South Side.  Mayo is one of 54 schools slated for closure by CPS, but was one of 13 plans rejected last week by an independent panel of hearing officers.  

A final vote by the Chicago Board of Education is still needed for CPS to move forward with its plan, which if approved would be the country's largest number of closings by a single school district at one time. The Board of Education will vote on the proposal May 22.

Lewis, who has called for a moratorium on all school closings, said it is not too late for the Illinois General Assembly to intervene, adding that the CPS proposal would be detrimental to the education of many of the students the district claiims to be helping.

“They’re bad public policy,” Lewis said. “We have been looking at school closings for over 10 years, they have not improved education, will not improve education, and even though they say it over and over and over again, there is no proof.”

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
10:58am
Fri Apr 26

Ald. Graham, Austin Community Make Final Push To Save May And Armstrong Schools

Ald. Deborah Graham (29th) said she was upset to see three of her neighborhood schools "pitted" against each other at a Chicago Public Schools' hearing last night regarding the possible closure of May and Armstrong elementary schools.

Under CPS' proposal, students at the two Austin schools would fold into Leland Elementary, which would take over May's current building in the fall.

“Tonight was the first time I really witnessed this process pitting schools against each other,” Graham said. "It is disheartening, and it puts each of the schools in an awkward situation. How can we create the comradery that we need to have a successful school? I think that’s in real jeopardy." Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ashlee Rezin
4:48pm
Tue Apr 23

Parkman Elementary Students Would Be Forced To Cross Gang Lines If School Closes, Parents Say (VIDEO)

More than 200 students enrolled at Fuller Park's Francis Parkman Elementary School will be asked to travel six blocks and cross East Garfield Blvd. to attend their welcoming school, Englewood's Jesse Sherwood Elementary School, if the Chicago Board of Education approves a proposal by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

East Garfield Blvd., according to attendees of Friday’s public forum on the school action, serves as the dividing line between two South Side neighborhoods and gang territories.

“The children are being asked to cross an invisible barrier,” said Carla Smith, 48, a lifelong Chicagoan and 2nd grade teacher of three years at Parkman Elementary.

Smith, one of approximately 75 people who attended the hearing, pleaded with the hearing's mediator to listen to the voice of the community.

“I’m scared for the kids; they can’t cross that line.”

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Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
4:38pm
Thu Mar 28

Nuclear Reactor Shutdowns Could Likely Decrease Community Cancer Rates, New Study Finds

The first ever long-term study examining the health impact idled U.S. nuclear reactors have on people living near the facilities found a significant drop in cancer incidents since the plant's closing, prompting researchers to call for further study of other populations near shuttered plants — including two in Illinois.  

In a 20-year period since the California Rancho Seco nuclear reactor closed, there were 4,319 fewer cases of cancer reported in Sacramento County, which has a population of about 1.4 million. The shuttered plant is located about 25 miles from the center of Sacramento city.

The cancer drops were most notable in women, Hispanics and children, according to Joseph Mangano, executive director of the Radiation and Public Health Project, and co-author of the report published today in the Biomedicine International journal.

“The need here for more knowledge is great given how many reactors are near major population centers,” Mangano said on a conference call with reporters today. “The bottom line is clear. We need more information about the long-term impact of low level radiation from both idled and currently operating reactors.”

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Quick Hit
by Steven Ross Johnson
3:23pm
Tue Feb 19

Parents, Community Plead To Keep Schools In Ravenswood-Ridge Network Open (VIDEO)

It was an atmosphere reminiscent of a basketball game, with a cheering crowd packing the bleachers of a gymnasium donning the purple and gold colors of their favorite school.

But the rallying cry that came from those who attended Saturday’s Chicago Public Schools’ public hearing had nothing to do with rooting for their team to win, but rather it was a plea to officials to not shut down any one of the four schools still being considered for closure within the Ravenswood-Ridge Elementary Network.

Close to 200 concerned parents, teachers and community members attended the meeting held at Truman College on the city’s North Side. It was the latest in a series of discussions CPS officials are conducting with residents from various communities that have schools on the chopping block.

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