State lawmakers pilloried Chicago Public Schools and CPS head Jean-Claude Brizard at a Springfield hearing yesterday, more than a month after the Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved 17 CPS school closings and turnarounds. Members of the Illinois House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee meeting said that CPS "bamboozled" Chicago students and neighborhoods by issuing the closings without sufficient community input. The hearing discussed legislation from Rep. Cynthia Soto (D-Chicago) that calls for a moratorium on school closings and turnarounds.

Lawmakers were also upset CPS did not send Jean-Claude Brizard, but instead other employees from the CPS central office. Lawmakers vowed to hold a subsequent hearing where Brizard and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be forced to appear via subpoena.