Full Text of HR0011 100th General Assembly
HR0011 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Article X of the Illinois Constitution states | 3 | | that: "A fundamental goal of the People of the State is the | 4 | | educational development of all persons to the limits of their | 5 | | capacities. The State shall provide for an efficient system of | 6 | | high quality public educational institutions and services. | 7 | | Education in public schools through the secondary level shall | 8 | | be free."; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The community of Austin on Chicago's West Side is | 10 | | the largest by population of the city's 77 officially defined | 11 | | community areas; the area is over 87% African-American and has | 12 | | a population of about 117,000, of which about 14,000 are of | 13 | | high school-age; Austin, like the other communities of the West | 14 | | Side, continues to suffer from the past recession; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Austin Community Academy High School was a public | 16 | | 4-year high school in the Austin neighborhood; during the | 17 | | mid-twentieth century, Austin High School was considered one of | 18 | | the best high schools in the Chicago area; in later years, | 19 | | however, Austin suffered from low test scores, low attendance, | 20 | | and student violence; the Chicago Public School system | 21 | | subsequently began phasing it out in 2004, ordering the school | 22 | | to stop admitting new freshman; the last graduations were held | 23 | | in June of 2007 and the phase-out was completed by the end of |
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| 1 | | summer in 2007; its successor, Austin Community Academy, was | 2 | | open for one year before it was shut down by Mayor Richard M. | 3 | | Daley; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The campus that formerly housed Austin Community | 5 | | Academy High School is now home to 3 smaller schools, Austin | 6 | | Business and Entrepreneurship Academy High School, Austin | 7 | | Polytechnical Academy, and VOISE Academy High School, which | 8 | | have a total attendance of 1,038 students, compared to the | 9 | | 6,000 students the academy held; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, It is widely felt that these 3 schools do not | 11 | | adequately serve the entire student population of the Austin | 12 | | community and that, if Chicago Public School leaders don't | 13 | | create more high school seats in the West Side neighborhood, | 14 | | more youth will end up in the streets of Chicago's toughest | 15 | | areas; Austin has no public option for high school, forcing | 16 | | students to either travel long distances, apply for selective | 17 | | magnet schools to which they have little chance of acceptance, | 18 | | or drop out of school entirely; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, On April 24, 2014, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel | 20 | | announced plans to build the Barack Obama College Preparatory | 21 | | High School, with selective enrollment open for the 2017-2018 | 22 | | school year; the Chicago Public School system is collecting | 23 | | ideas and proposals for more than 40 of the school buildings it |
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| 1 | | shuttered in last year's massive school closings on a website | 2 | | the district launched, and the Chicago Board of Education has | 3 | | asked
members of the public and community groups to submit | 4 | | proposals for the old school sites, including the old Emmet | 5 | | School sites; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Chicago Board of Education continues to invest | 7 | | in the improvement of
Rockne Stadium just south of the proposed | 8 | | site to be used as an athletic field for team sports; $700,000 | 9 | | in improvements to the CPS-owned stadium
were recently | 10 | | announced; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, A new high school built on the 133,600 square-foot | 12 | | site of the old Emmet School in Chicago, which has been given | 13 | | the proposed name of West Side Unity High School, would ensure | 14 | | that the student population of the Austin community could | 15 | | receive the quality education that they deserve; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Building a new high school on the site of the old | 17 | | Emmet School would ensure that the Chicago Public School system | 18 | | would not have to find and purchase a new site, since the | 19 | | proposed site is already owned by CPS; in addition, the land | 20 | | qualifies as a TIF area, which would help fund any new | 21 | | construction project with over $20,000,000; this decision | 22 | | would also rid the Austin community of an eyesore that has | 23 | | proven to be a detriment on the safety and values of properties |
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| 1 | | and businesses in the community and replace it with a building | 2 | | that will reduce crime and increase property values for | 3 | | families on the West Side; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Building a new high school at this location would | 5 | | also place it on Madison Street, a street that features | 6 | | numerous public transportation options to enable many students | 7 | | to reach the school safely and easily; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Building 2 new high schools simultaneously, | 9 | | utilizing the same blueprints, could prove to be a more | 10 | | cost-effective solution to the problems faced by those on | 11 | | Chicago's West Side; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Numerous schools in Chicago's West Side could | 13 | | serve as feeders for a new school at the old Emmet site, | 14 | | including Austin neighborhood schools and Ellington, GR Clark, | 15 | | DePriest, Spencer, Hay, Nash, Brunson, McNair, Lovett, and | 16 | | Young Schools; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In this month when we honor the fight that | 18 | | resulted in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, let us | 19 | | come together in our own fight for equal educational | 20 | | opportunities for all; we must fight and work to end racism in | 21 | | education, mass incarceration, and senseless death due to | 22 | | violence; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 | | urge the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and all | 4 | | stakeholders to work together to bring a school to the | 5 | | Chicago's West Side to help meet the needs of the tax-paying | 6 | | families in those communities; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That we congratulate President Barack Obama on | 8 | | the dedication of the Barack Obama College Preparatory High | 9 | | School after him and commend Mayor Rahm Emanuel for expanding | 10 | | more opportunities for educational success for families of | 11 | | Chicago; and be it further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we urge Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the | 13 | | Governor to come together to bring a new high school to | 14 | | Chicago's West Side; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | delivered to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Bruce | 17 | | Rauner.
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