Bill Text: IL HR0137 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Urges the City of Chicago to build a new high school on the site of the old Emmet School site in Chicago.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-03 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0137 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HR0137-Introduced.html

---

HR0137 LRB099 05734 GRL 25778 r
HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Article X of the Illinois Constitution states
that: "A fundamental goal of the People of the State is the
educational development of all persons to the limits of their
capacities. The State shall provide for an efficient system of
high quality public educational institutions and services.
Education in public schools through the secondary level shall
be free."; and
WHEREAS, The community of Austin on Chicago's West Side is
the largest by population of the city's 77 officially defined
community areas; the area is over 87% African-American and has
a population of about 117,000, of which about 14,000 are of
high school-age; Austin, like the other communities of the West
Side, continues to suffer from the past recession; and
WHEREAS, Austin Community Academy High School was a public
4-year high school in the Austin neighborhood; during the
mid-twentieth century, Austin High School was considered one of
the best high schools in the Chicago area; in later years,
however, Austin suffered from low test scores, low attendance,
and student violence; the Chicago Public School system
subsequently began phasing it out in 2004, ordering the school
to stop admitting new freshman; the last graduations were held
in June of 2007 and the phase-out was completed by the end of

HR0137 - 2 - LRB099 05734 GRL 25778 r
summer in 2007; its successor, Austin Community Academy, was
open for one year before it was shut down by Mayor Richard M.
Daley; and
WHEREAS, The campus that formerly housed Austin Community
Academy High School is now home to 3 smaller schools, Austin
Business and Entrepreneurship Academy High School, Austin
Polytechnical Academy, and VOISE Academy High School, which
have a total attendance of 1,038 students, compared to the
6,000 students the academy held; and
WHEREAS, It is widely felt that these 3 schools do not
adequately serve the entire student population of the Austin
community and that, if Chicago Public School leaders don't
create more high school seats in the West Side neighborhood,
more youth will end up in the streets of Chicago's toughest
areas; Austin has no public option for high school, forcing
students to either travel long distances, apply for selective
magnet schools to which they have little chance of acceptance,
or drop out of school entirely; and
WHEREAS, On April 24, 2014, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
announced plans to build the Barack Obama College Preparatory
High School, with selective enrollment open for the 2017-2018
school year; the Chicago Public School system is collecting
ideas and proposals for more than 40 of the school buildings it

HR0137 - 3 - LRB099 05734 GRL 25778 r
shuttered in last year's massive school closings on a website
the district launched, and the Chicago Board of Education has
asked members of the public and community groups to submit
proposals for the old school sites, including the old Emmet
School sites; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Board of Education continues to invest
in the improvement of Rockne Stadium just south of the proposed
site to be used as an athletic field for team sports; $700,000
in improvements to the CPS-owned stadium were recently
announced; and
WHEREAS, A new high school built on the 133,600 square-foot
site of the old Emmet School in Chicago, which has been given
the proposed name of West Side Unity High School, would ensure
that the student population of the Austin community could
receive the quality education that they deserve; and
WHEREAS, Building a new high school on the site of the old
Emmet School would ensure that the Chicago Public School system
would not have to find and purchase a new site, since the
proposed site is already owned by CPS; in addition, the land
qualifies as a TIF area, which would help fund any new
construction project with over $20,000,000; this decision
would also rid the Austin community of an eyesore that has
proven to be a detriment on the safety and values of properties

HR0137 - 4 - LRB099 05734 GRL 25778 r
and businesses in the community and replace it with a building
that will reduce crime and increase property values for
families on the West Side; and
WHEREAS, Building a new high school at this location would
also place it on Madison Street, a street that features
numerous public transportation options to enable many students
to reach the school safely and easily; and
WHEREAS, Building 2 new high schools simultaneously,
utilizing the same blueprints, could prove to be a more
cost-effective solution to the problems faced by those on
Chicago's West Side; and
WHEREAS, Numerous schools in Chicago's West Side could
serve as feeders for a new school at the old Emmet site,
including Austin neighborhood schools and Ellington, GR Clark,
DePriest, Spencer, Hay, Nash, Brunson, McNair, Lovett, and
Young Schools; and
WHEREAS, In this month when we honor the fight that
resulted in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, let us
come together in our own fight for equal educational
opportunities for all; we must fight and work to end racism in
education, mass incarceration, and senseless death due to
violence; therefore, be it

HR0137 - 5 - LRB099 05734 GRL 25778 r
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
urge the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois, and all
stakeholders to work together to bring a school to the
Chicago's West Side to help meet the needs of the tax-paying
families in those communities; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we congratulate President Barack Obama on
the dedication of the Barack Obama College Preparatory High
School after him and commend Mayor Rahm Emanuel for expanding
more opportunities for educational success for families of
Chicago; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the
Governor to come together to bring a new high school to
Chicago's West Side; and be it further
RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Governor Bruce
Rauner.