Council Orders Heat Restored to Whittier Fieldhouse
By Kevin Robinson in News on Oct 7, 2010 2:00PM
Just a day after Chicago Public School bosses had the gas shut off at the Whittier elementary where parents have been staging a sit-in for nearly a month, the Chicago city council has ordered the utility restored. Two powerful aldermen - the 14th Ward's Ed Burke and the 25th Ward's Danny Solis - co-sponsored an order mandating that heat be restored to the structure. The council approved the order unanimously. “I don’t know what genius at the Board of Education made this decision," Burke told the Sun-Times. "But, whoever it is ought to see what it’s like to live overnight in a 35-degree dwelling place. They ought to turn the gas back on and we ought to direct them to do so.”
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Map of libraries in proximity to Whittier School, courtesy of Chicagoist commenter ChicagoD
Parents in Pilsen, which is in Solis's ward, have been staging a sit-in at the Whittier fieldhouse since September 15, demanding a sit-down meeting with schools CEO Ron Huberman. The city has moved to demolish the structure, saying that it is unsafe. CPS wants to replace the building with $1.5 million in TIF funds with a soccer field that will be used by Cristo Rey Jesuit high school. Parents of children at the elementary school want the building repaired and turned into a library and a parent resource center. At the heart of the dispute are two separate assessments by different structural engineers. The city's engineer says the building would cost too much to repair. Parents say their engineer believes that the building is salvageable. Solis has suggested a third structural engineering assessment, but says that can't happen until parents vacate the space.