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.”
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On the first day of spring break, a group of approximately 20 high
school students marched to City Hall to deliver a letter to Mayor Rahm
Emanuel today, announcing their opposition to last week’s announcement
from Chicago Public Schools (CPS) that 54 schools will be closed and
another six are slated for turnaround.
Standing outside one of the schools slated for closure, Chicago
Teachers Union (CTU) President Karen Lewis had heated words for Mayor
Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Board of Education today.
The Chicago Sun-Times is 