CPS, Whittier Parents Talk Compromise

Meeting between school officials and Whittier School parents will take place at CPS headquarters on Wednesday morning

After more than a month of protests from the group, Chicago Public School's officials finally met face to face with parents of Whittier Elementary School on Wednesday to hear their demands over a field house marked for demolition.

Parents and officials emerged from a morning meeting calling it a good first step. But the parents vowed to continue their 37-day sit-in until CPS CEO Ron Huberman produces a written memorandum of understanding detailing some proposed compromises.

"Ron [Huberman] wants limited habitation of the facility (field house) until it gets fixed up," said Ald. Danny Solis, who's been privy to conversations.

The parents are asking school officials to suspend demolition plans of the field house since they want to turn it into a library, but the district insists the building is structurally unsafe and needs to be torn down.

Huberman's compromise includes building a library inside the Whittier School, not in the field house.

"This makes it much easier for students to access the library during the school day as part of their studies," Huberman said.

He added he would like to lease the field house to a non-profit group for a $1/year lease so that they can correct the building's issues and turn it into a community center.

Parents signaled a willingness to accept a compromise along those lines, but want written word that plans will move forward.

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