Progress Illinois

Parents and community groups from Chicago and Philadelphia stood in solidarity against school closings at a gathering outside the Chicago Board of Education’s headquarters Tuesday morning. The activists also blasted the national trend of privatizing education.

“There’s another agenda going on in this city and throughout this country, and that’s the agenda of private business corporations taking over the schools,” said Shannon Bennett with the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO).  “But the community and the people have spoken, and we’re going to continue to do our due diligence, to do the work that we have to do, to dismantle this system.”

Read more »

Although the 47th ward appears to be safe from potential school closings at the end of the academic year, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th ward) and other education panelists at a North Side forum last night said all Chicago communities would feel the impact of shuttered neighborhood schools.

It’s likely some schools in the 47th Ward, and others, would take in students from nearby schools that Chicago Public Schools decides to close, the alderman said.

Pawar cited one nearby public school, Trumbull, on CPS’ potential 129-school closing list. About 30 percent of students at the elementary school near Ashland and Foster avenues have special needs, he said. 

“I think some of the schools in the area will absorb those students, and we’re OK with that,” Pawar said. “I just think what makes this a little frustrating is we’re not moving cattle around. These are children, and whether they’re special ed or not, how we count them matters.”

Read more »

What started out as a neighborhood gathering in support of various public policy changes quickly turned into a march, which culminated into a rally outside the front doorstep of the home of 49th Ward Chicago Alderman Joe Moore.

A diverse crowd of hundreds that included college students, residents, community activists as well as several elected officials, attended the public meeting held Sunday evening in the Willye White Field House in Rogers Park.

The event, held by the community group Northside P.O.W.E.R., brought together various interests under a common theme of what they described as the “corporatization” of such public concerns as education, healthcare, affordable housing and taxes.

“This is a fight against corporate power and greed,” said Northside P.O.W.E.R. Chairwoman Beth Lanford. “This is a fight against the corporatization of our society. We must stop the process of turning our common good into their private gain.”

Read more »