Aldermen fear for ‘babies’ crossing gang turf
One alderman called it a “slow death” politically and worried about real bloodshed triggered by “babies walking through gang turf.”
Another questioned how a Police Department so short of manpower it’s paying 400 officers a day to work overtime in high-crime neighborhoods can guarantee the safety of kids traveling further to school.
Thursday was D-day for Chicago aldermen, who found out after numerous public hearings and countless hours of behind-the-scenes lobbying how many schools in their wards will be closed, consolidated or turned around.
It wasn’t pretty. On all-at-once orders from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago is embarking on the largest public school upheaval the nation has ever seen.
“If this thing don’t work, it’s a time bomb waiting to explode — for all of us. . . . It’s a mistake to close a whole bunch of schools at the same time,” said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), whose ward has five school closings and 10 impacted schools.
“I don’t know how they’re gonna stop violence from happening. These little babies have got to walk through gang territory. On the West Side, unfortunately, every other block is a different gang. I hope it don’t stop kids from going to school.”
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), whose West Side ward has 11 impacted schools, added, “My biggest concern is safety and distance. Those two go hand in hand. We have to make sure that, whatever happens, the students are safe. I don’t want to see another Derrion Albert situation. That’s something that will be squarely on the shoulders of CPS.”
Derrion was an honors student beaten to death in a mob attack near Fenger Academy in 2009.
Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd), whose ward has close to 20 impacted schools, recalled that it took 10 police squad cars and helicopter hovering overhead to ensure the “safe passage” of students after the 2008 murder of Ruben Ivy outside Crane High School caused attendance to plunge to 30 percent.
“We don’t have enough police officers on the streets to ensure the safety of these kids. We are stretched so thin right now, we’re racking up overtime at an unbelievable rate,” Fioretti said.
Fioretti also criticized Emanuel for dropping the political bombshell of school closings while out of town for a spring break ski trip to Utah with his wife and kids.
“It’s his CPS. If he feels like he wants to be out of town when it happens, it’s a slap in the face to the citizens. He’s not here to answer any questions or stand by his head of the school system,” Fioretti said.
Even Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), the mayor’s City Council floor leader, wasn’t spared the pain of school closings. His ward includes Trumbull Elementary, with nearly 32 percent special education students.
“This is a very bitter pill to swallow. It’s not a decision the City Council is making, but it’s clearly a decision we’re gonna have to live with,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor scoffed at suggestions that Emanuel is showing political cowardice by timing the explosive announcement while out of town.
“If the mayor couldn’t leave town whenever there was an issue, he’d essentially never leave his office because there’s always an issue,” O’Connor said.
“This is the time when his children are off. It’s not like he’s leaving town, and the controversy will have ended when he gets back. ”
Emanuel has ordered CPS to get the political pain over with in one fell-swoop — kind of like removing a Band-Aid.
In fact, after persuading the Illinois General Assembly to push back the deadline for releasing a list of school closings until March 31, the mayor agreed not to close any more schools for five years.
Still, Fioretti and others believe the mayor is making a grave mistake.
Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) added, “I don’t subscribe to all at once. I don’t disagree with the goal. I’m questioning the method. It wouldn’t have hurt to have spent a little more time on this” and wait for the 10-year facilities master plan, due on July 1.
Ald. Michelle Harris (8th), the City Council’s president pro tem and a strong mayoral ally, was not among the aldermen griping.
“My community doesn’t have as many children as we had 25 years ago, when working families were raising children. I have a lot of retired people living within my boundaries. It’s a reality of the world we live in. It’s all about the numbers. The numbers don’t lie,” Harris said.
“They’ve already done a yeoman’s job. At first, the number [of potential closings] was 130. To get it down to a number below 100 is tremendous. I’m truly grateful. Barbara Byrd-Bennett is committed to doing a number of things. She seems to be a woman of her word. If she’s allowed to do her plan, there doesn’t have to be fall-out for anybody.”