Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday offered an apology for the naming controversy surrounding a north side school.
Plans last week were scrapped to name an upcoming selective-enrollment high school on Chicago's north side after President Barack Obama. Many south side residents said they found the plan insulting because Obama's roots were on the south side, and that's also where first lady Michelle Obama was born and raised.
"In my rush to honor our favorite son, I made a mistake. I heard the community, and it's not going to be named after the president. My goal is to have a library named after him in the city of Chicago," Emanuel said outside the Shedd Aquarium, where he and other mayors were gathering to discuss strategies to protect fresh water resources.
The school, to be located on Chicago Park District property near Skinner North Classical School, will enroll 1,200 students and should be open in time for the 2017-18 school year.
