A bill to put a to put a temporary moratorium on school closings
advanced in the Senate Education Committee Tuesday, however it was
“shelled” and all language was stripped out, according to a spokeswoman
for Sen. William Delgado (D-Chicago), the legislation’s chief sponsor.
The bill, SB 1571, was changed because the votes in the committee weren’t all there for its approval and its language needed to be strengthened.
Lawmakers were also feeling the heat of getting bills out of committee by this week’s deadline, the Associated Press reported.
Stacy Davis Gates, legislative and political director for the Chicago Teachers Union, which sent members
to Springfield to testify on the moratorium’s behalf, said stripping
the language was a “legislative maneuver,” because if it stayed in
committee, it would be dead.
“The biggest part is it’s alive,” she said. “Had everything stayed in as is, it probably wouldn’t have gotten out.”
Read more »
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) and a handful of other aldermen want plastic carryout bags banned in Chicago. 
Energy was high outside the Chicago Board of Education meeting
Wednesday morning as education activists, union members, teachers,
students and parents gathered in anticipation of a vote that could close
a staggering amount of schools across the Chicago Public Schools (CPS)
district. 
