WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The walk from King Elementary to Jensen Elementary on the West Side is 20 minutes each way — past boarded-up buildings and vacant lots. CPS says the walk is long enough that the students will get busing, but parents are still worried.

Hearings began Saturday to give the public a chance to weigh in on Chicago Public Schools’ massive plan to close and consolidate schools, the largest ever tried in the nation.

The Chicago Teachers Union took reporters and elected officials on a “School Closings Bus Tour" Thursday. It was not an unbiased bus tour.

The Board of Education meeting drew morning protesters, while down the street, a City Council panel held a hearing to discuss the closings.

Charter advocates and even the Chicago Tribune editorial board say 19,000 kids are on charter school waiting lists in the city. There’s just one problem with that number: It’s not accurate. 

More than 100 people were detained and ticketed yesterday afternoon at a protest against proposed school closings. It was the first major protest since the district announced last week it wants to shut down 54 schools.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is addressing the racial disparities in his administration’s plan to close an unprecedented 54 public schools next year.