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Public 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.”

Read more »

PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
3:54pm
Fri Apr 26

Genetically Engineered Food Must Be Labeled As Such, Argue Consumer Rights Advocates

Congress

The United States is one of the last remaining industrialized countries that does not mandate disclosure of genetically modified organisms (GMO) on food labels. But recent state and federal legislation reflects the rallying cry of food advocacy groups calling for the government to give consumers the right to know exactly what they are eating.

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.”

Read more »

PI Original
by Ashlee Rezin
1:03pm
Tue Apr 23

Call For Legislative Help In Fighting CPS School Closures Rings Loud At Congressional Forum (VIDEO)

Education

The proposal to close 54 schools across the Chicago Public Schools system is unsafe and will destabilize communities already hit hard by the economic depression, according to speakers at a Congressional Forum hosted by U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush (D, IL-1) and Danny Davis (D, IL-7) over the weekend.