[VIDEO] I think what was alluded to by these WGN anchors on Monday was the planning and assurance by the Chicago Police there won't be many issues then we hear over 60 people were arrested causing issues in the Loop. We hear about a large crowd (or mob) of unruly young people came downtown setting off fireworks and setting fires in garbage cans.
This seems to be a recurring theme unfortunately. Often we're hearing about large gatherings of young people in downtown Chicago. And sometimes they do cause issues.
[VIDEO] I got caught up in this on Saturday night. Thankfully I was away from the action as I saw a line of Chicago Police vehicles along Washington Blvd from State to Wabash and then to Michigan Avenue at least. It appeared the focus was near the Christmas tree in Millenium Park.
[VIDEO] If CPS students are to return to school in September without a doubt it will be a different back to school period than we have in recent memory. Schools were shut down in March due to the pandemic and CPS is looking for input as far as getting students back to class.
If you believe Gov. J.B. Pritzker it's increasingly becoming clear that it'll be a bit before our part of the world will return to normal. After a good month of low numbers of cases and most important low numbers of deaths there have been increases in cases and all 102 counties in Illinois has reported cases.
What are your thoughts on students going back to school in September (that is no more remote learning as was the case for the remainder of the last school year)?
[VIDEO] While the lady you see above isn't currently a CPS teacher I think it was necessary to show this story that aired on CBS 2 over the weekend. Denise King of St. John de la Salle School located in the Rosemoor community is keeping her students moving with her YouTube channel.
I'm sure that just as with the Chicago Public Schools whose students are out of school until April 21, 2020 due to the coronavirus, it's probably just as easily a hardship for those students who attend a private school. I celebrate the efforts of Ms. King to use her platform to continue helping our students during this difficult time.
I think this is good news we can use while we keep an eye on all the numbers of infections in this state. And of course we look forward to our young people eventually finishing the current school year strong once this is all over.
6th Ward Alderman Roderick Sawyer is trying to get funding back for an Englewood learning center (preschool). Something that was evidently promised last year by former mayor Rahm Emanuel:
Last year, former mayor Rahm Emanuel praised Little Angels Learning Center, pledging $1.4 million to turn a vacant lot near the Englewood church from which it currently operates into an early learning center.
Emanuel has since left office, and the city just this month sent a letter to center founder Nashone Greer-Adams telling her the funding is being cut.
Chalkbeat Chicago reported this week that Greer-Adams got a letter from the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services Commissioner Lisa Morrison-Butler with the bad news for her center, which operates out of a church at 6701 S. Emerald Ave.
Sawyer says he wants the city to reverse the cuts.
“We’ve been a big supporter of Little Angels. They’ve been doing a phenomenal job with our children in the Englewood community,” said Sawyer, who had worked to get funding for the preschool program.
“A lot of their grant dollars were based on the programming they’d been doing over the years. They were held up as a model of what a preschool should be. How could they do that? It’s unheard of,” said Sawyer. “[Greer-Adams] came to me today in tears. She works so hard.”
“We’re not finished. There’s are going to be more conversations about this.”
Today is the first day of school and the new high school in Englewood will welcome their new students this morning at Englewood STEM High School. Englewood STEM is located at the former site of Robeson High School (6835 S Normal Blvd) which had been closed and demolished to accommodate this new school. Here's wishing the newest students at this school a successful school year.
The good news is that according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Mr. Shelton has been found safe. He was said to be unfamiliar with the Chicago area and it was reported that he left Morehouse just as the school year was starting in Atlanta to take a sudden flight to Chicago. The reports above noted the he wandered from his father's home near 72nd and Ashland.
I've written about the group of Morehouse College students who over the years have come up here with Morehouse alum Corey Hardiman to mentor Chicago Public School male students on their spring break. They choose cold Chicago instead of the warm weather of spring break beaches.
When most college students think of spring break, they think of a
tropical getaway along sandy beaches. But for the sixth year in a row, a
group of students from Morehouse College in Atlanta is giving back and
serving the South Side of Chicago.
The Morehouse mentors were matched with their mentees at Chicago State University on Thursday.
"The reason why I started the Young Men of Color Conference was
because, for me, growing up I didn't see brothers who look like me doing
successful work," said Corey Hardiman, founder of the Morehouse group
called Hope Dealers. "All we are here to do is to promote excellence of
young men of color. If they can't see it, how can they become it?"
These spring breakers are focused on getting their CPS mentees ready
for a career, helping them resolve conflicts and teaching new life
skills.
I think it was cool that they made it to Harlan this week, Harlan is where I graduated from high school. Back in the day, I could've used a young male college student to show me how it is. Hopefully I'd have listened and followed up with them.
Due to the extreme weather conditions so CPS students have two days off today and Thursday. Here's a Tribune article about the near record cold temps and the various closures and cancellations as far as schools.
Many were concerned, especially on social media and with temps going to very chilly lows CPS is cancelling classes on Wednesday.
BREAKING: Chicago Public Schools has announced that schools will be closed Wednesday due to sub-zero temperatures and potentially record-setting windchill values. https://t.co/IstgmNO2yh
The safety of our students is the district’s highest priority. All afterschool activities will be canceled tomorrow, January 29th. All CPS schools will be closed on Wednesday, January 30th.
I know outside of the scope of this blog, but I never minded sharing the charitable aspects seen around the city especially from the good folks in Uptown. And of course someone in our local schools on the south side also don't have winter gear as we head into winter.
If you know of any coat drives in the community send us an e-mail, a tweet, or even let us know on our ig page. We'd love to hear about it.
Over the past summer, Chicago Public Schools had been rocked by allegations of sexual abuse of CPS students by volunteers or employees at their schools. And now we go back further, Rich Miller takes a look at stories where former schools CEO and 2019 mayoral candidate Paul Vallas chose not to act on allegations of abuse by an elementary school volunteer.
Even though Vallas has been away from CPS since 2001, it seems the current scandals will touch him unless he's willing to adequately address it. Regardless, it seems the problem from over decade ago is almost similar to the scandals we know about today!
[VIDEO] This story actually broke via CBS 2 about an hour ago. Worth sharing with you all. Location of Chatham Academy is 9034 South Langley. The incident itself took place at 91st & Langley.
Three students were shot outside Chatham Academy High School on Chicago’s South Side Monday afternoon around 4 p.m..
Chicago Police confirmed a 16-year-old male was shot in the left shoulder and was transported to Comer Children’s Hospital in stable condition. An 18-year-old was shot in the right arm and left armpit and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in stable condition. A 17-year-old male was shot int he upper left leg and was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center in unknown condition.
As the young people return to school this fall may they stay safe and stay out of trouble.
This event will take place at Tuley Park 90th & King Drive starting at 11:00 AM this Saturday. Here's a post from the organizers of this annual event - Chesterfield Community Organization.
9th Ward Annual Back to school picnic & health fair
Saturday, August 18, 2018
11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Palmer Park
201 E. 111th Street
Of course give Ald. Beale's office a call with any questions! 773.785.1100
BTW the above image was taken from Ald. Beale's new ig page. Give it a look and follow to see what else he's up to!
Also next Satuday the 56th annual Englewood back to school parade. Here's a post from englewoodparade on ig. To register www.englewoodparade.com or 773.802.1568
The things that go on in our community. Is there anyway to know a child is being neglected is in need of intervention?
Emergency crews responded about 3:35 p.m. to the 7600 block of South Prairie and took the girl to University of Chicago Medical Center, according to police.
The girl was pronounced dead at 4:06 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. A ruling on the cause and manner of her death was not immediately made following an autopsy Wednesday and was pending further investigation.
A spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Children and Family Services said the agency was investigating an allegation of neglect. The agency has not had prior contact with the family.
Area South detectives were conducting a death investigation.
Days after the Chicago Tribune began publishing stories of alarming and unreported sexual abuse and assault within Chicago Public Schools, Illinois’ two U.S. senators fired off letters demanding accountability and transparency.
But something — or rather someone — was missing from their missives. No mention of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Must have been an oversight.
Instead of directing their concern at the person who actually oversees CPS, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sent letters to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Illinois schools Superintendent Tony Smith expressing their alarm and requesting more data collection at federal and state levels. By threading the needle carefully, they honed in on narrow aspects of the Tribune’s investigation that touched on state and federal data collection and transparency, not CPS’ failures.
[VIDEO] I'm with Alderman Howard Brookins (Ward 21) where Simeon and the Walmart is located. Ald. Brookins years ago was at the front of a battle to bring Walmart to the south side and by 2011 it was time for a ground breaking to build this store. Indeed it's hard work to bring national retailers to south side neighborhoods as Chatham only for this activity to happen.
As you know last week there were nationwide protests against guns last week and high school students around the nation took part in demonstrations. Unfortunately there were a group of young people who took advantage of being allowed to take part in these protest to engage in this form of mayhem. Not just outright trash the local Walmart store, also to engage in small time theft.
Chicago police say it started when students at neighboring Simeon Career Academy were allowed to leave the school for 17 minutes to take part in the nationwide walkout to protest guns.
Police say between 40 and 60 of those students crossed the street and trashed parts of the store, knocking over product displays, yanking items off shelves, breaking packages and stealing small items like chips and candy.
In a statement, a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson says: "We are very concerned by these allegations and we are reviewing the matter."
Some of the students that FOX 32 talked to at Simeon say they're angry that a walkout intended to promote peace instead led to vandalism and violence.
In my mind, now this can lead to questions as to whether or not students should be allowed to leave school to engage in activism. I'm all for our young people engaging in various aspects of their civic duty which is certainly to protest, however, we can never tolerate unfortunate incidents such as this.
[VIDEO] Yesterday the Chicago Board of Education voted to close four Englewood high schools. As you see in the video above we see the activists and the youth being fired up over the actions by the schools. The four schools in Englewood - Harper, Hope, Team Englewood, and Robeson - were to be closed due to decreasing enrollment for a new high school to be built were Robeson High School currently stands at 6835 S. Normal.
