The school that mistakenly got a $1 million grant from Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration for new classroom space can't open in downtown Chicago because of fire code violations.
And Loop Lab School might be forced to repay the accidental grant if it doesn't resolve "compliance" issues with the administration by week's end, officials said Wednesday.
The private school for children whose parents work in Chicago's Loop has been closed since the space it rented burned in the January 2006 fire that destroyed Pilgrim Baptist Church.
Blagojevich promised $1 million to help the church rebuild, then blamed a bureaucratic error for giving the money to the school instead. He gave another $1 million grant to Pilgrim in July.
The school bought a downtown condo, but city officials say it doesn't meet fire-safety rules. The city's building department told school directors last month it had an inadequate fire-alarm system, some of its classroom doors are too far from exits, some doors aren't as fire-resistant as necessary, and some classrooms don't have required natural light, spokesman Bill McCaffrey said.
Messages left at the school and on administrator Chandra Gill's cell phone were not returned Wednesday.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Chicago school may have to return state grant
This has been in the news during the week. This money was supposed to go to Pilgrim Baptist Church but somehow they became the recipients. AP:
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