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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Article X of the Illinois Constitution states
3that: "A fundamental goal of the People of the State is the
4educational development of all persons to the limits of their
5capacities. The State shall provide for an efficient system of
6high quality public educational institutions and services.
7Education in public schools through the secondary level shall
8be free."; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The community of Austin on Chicago's West Side is
10the largest by population of the city's 77 officially defined
11community areas; the area is over 87% African-American and has
12a population of about 117,000, of which about 14,000 are of
13high school-age; Austin, like the other communities of the West
14Side, continues to suffer from the past recession; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Austin Community Academy High School was a public
164-year high school in the Austin neighborhood; during the
17mid-twentieth century, Austin High School was considered one of
18the best high schools in the Chicago area; in later years,
19however, Austin suffered from low test scores, low attendance,
20and student violence; the Chicago Public School system
21subsequently began phasing it out in 2004, ordering the school
22to stop admitting new freshman; the last graduations were held
23in June of 2007 and the phase-out was completed by the end of

 

 

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1summer in 2007; its successor, Austin Community Academy, was
2open for one year before it was shut down by Mayor Richard M.
3Daley; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The campus that formerly housed Austin Community
5Academy High School is now home to 3 smaller schools, Austin
6Business and Entrepreneurship Academy High School, Austin
7Polytechnical Academy, and VOISE Academy High School, which
8have a total attendance of 1,038 students, compared to the
96,000 students the academy held; and
 
10    WHEREAS, It is widely felt that these 3 schools do not
11adequately serve the entire student population of the Austin
12community and that, if Chicago Public School leaders don't
13create more high school seats in the West Side neighborhood,
14more youth will end up in the streets of Chicago's toughest
15areas; Austin has no public option for high school, forcing
16students to either travel long distances, apply for selective
17magnet schools to which they have little chance of acceptance,
18or drop out of school entirely; and
 
19    WHEREAS, On April 24, 2014, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
20announced plans to build the Barack Obama College Preparatory
21High School, with selective enrollment open for the 2017-2018
22school year; the Chicago Public School system is collecting
23ideas and proposals for more than 40 of the school buildings it

 

 

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1shuttered in last year's massive school closings on a website
2the district launched, and the Chicago Board of Education has
3asked members of the public and community groups to submit
4proposals for the old school sites, including the old Emmet
5School sites; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Chicago Board of Education continues to invest
7in the improvement of Rockne Stadium just south of the proposed
8site to be used as an athletic field for team sports; $700,000
9in improvements to the CPS-owned stadium were recently
10announced; and
 
11    WHEREAS, A new high school built on the 133,600 square-foot
12site of the old Emmet School in Chicago, which has been given
13the proposed name of West Side Unity High School, would ensure
14that the student population of the Austin community could
15receive the quality education that they deserve; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Building a new high school on the site of the old
17Emmet School would ensure that the Chicago Public School system
18would not have to find and purchase a new site, since the
19proposed site is already owned by CPS; in addition, the land
20qualifies as a TIF area, which would help fund any new
21construction project with over $20,000,000; this decision
22would also rid the Austin community of an eyesore that has
23proven to be a detriment on the safety and values of properties

 

 

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1and businesses in the community and replace it with a building
2that will reduce crime and increase property values for
3families on the West Side; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Building a new high school at this location would
5also place it on Madison Street, a street that features
6numerous public transportation options to enable many students
7to reach the school safely and easily; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Building 2 new high schools simultaneously,
9utilizing the same blueprints, could prove to be a more
10cost-effective solution to the problems faced by those on
11Chicago's West Side; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Numerous schools in Chicago's West Side could
13serve as feeders for a new school at the old Emmet site,
14including Austin neighborhood schools and Ellington, GR Clark,
15DePriest, Spencer, Hay, Nash, Brunson, McNair, Lovett, and
16Young Schools; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In this month when we honor the fight that
18resulted in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, let us
19come together in our own fight for equal educational
20opportunities for all; we must fight and work to end racism in
21education, mass incarceration, and senseless death due to
22violence; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we urge the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and all
4stakeholders to work together to bring a school to the
5Chicago's West Side to help meet the needs of the tax-paying
6families in those communities; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That we congratulate President Barack Obama on
8the dedication of the Barack Obama College Preparatory High
9School after him and commend Mayor Rahm Emanuel for expanding
10more opportunities for educational success for families of
11Chicago; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That we urge Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the
13Governor to come together to bring a new high school to
14Chicago's West Side; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
16delivered to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Pat Quinn.