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6700 N. Whipple St. – Boone Clinton Elementary School

Update 11/15/2009: Will the new school have access from Kedzie Ave.?
Following resumption of construction in mid-July, rumors circulated that a partial solution to neighborhood concerns over traffic had been found. Senator Ira Silverstein, who represented the local community in negotiations with the City, reported that CPS had agreed to purchase a strip of land from Peoples Gas to provide vehicular access from Kedzie Ave. According to Senator Silverstein, the additional access is intended for school buses only and not for pick-up and drop-off by parents.

Alderman Stone, however, remains skeptical that such an arrangement has in fact been reached, saying only, "Some people think there will be access from Kedzie." A search of public records also failed to reveal any evidence of a change in plans for the new school. No transfer, lease or other agreement has been filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Nor has any change to the plans or the construction contract been posted by the Public Buildings Commission, the City agency responsible for new school construction.

It is extremely disappointing that the status of this hotly debated issue remains the subject of rumors. We had hoped that any serious attempt to address community concerns and find a workable compromise would be open and transparent. Instead, we are left in the dark with more of the same backroom deals and decisions made behind closed.

Update 7/7/2009: Will construction resume at Boone-Clinton school?
Although all agree that a new neighborhood school is required to relieve overcrowding at Boone and Clinton Schools, plans for the new Boone-Clinton area elementary school on Whipple have been contentious. The site has a number of obvious disadvantages, the most significant being the limited vehicular access offered by its location on a one-way residential street. Despite this and other concerns, CPS acquired the site in 2002 upon the recommendation of Ald. Stone.

Local residents, especially those living closest to the proposed school, continued to be concerned about issues of traffic and parking, but found Ald. Stone entirely unsympathetic and unresponsive to their concerns. Lacking other options, they took their case directly to the mayor's office. Their argument must have been persuasive, because construction of the school was halted in mid-May.

An anonymous group of residents sent out an email message urging others to call the Mayor's Office to "Thank him for recognizing the serious problems which we face and for placing the Boone-Clinton Elementary School project on hold for 45 days in order to find a solution." The email is dated May 18, the same day the general contractor was notified to stop work.

Ald. Stone at first denied that construction had been suspended, calling news of the 45-day hold "a false rumor". Then he fought back, mobilizing longtime school proponents in a petition drive to demand that construction resume. While Ald. Stone has not acknowledged his role in organizing this effort, the petition bears the stylistic hallmarks of the alderman's office and was circulated by longtime Stone political worker Sheri Benham.

On June 23, Stone declared victory in a letter to supporters: "Because of your hard work, the construction will commence on July 1st." Whether the petitions achieved anything at all is questionable. The 45-day hold was set to expire July 1 in any case.

So where do we stand now? As of today, construction has not resumed. Nor are we aware of any change in the design to address neighbors' concerns. The Mayor's Office and CPS have both failed to respond to FOIA requests for information despite repeated followup calls. The Public Buildings Commission (PBC) did respond and provided just a hint of an possible solution in the works. According to the PBC's response, "While there are two other documents that may be responsive to your request, regarding "changes in access or site design" those documents will not be produced as they come within exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act. These exemptions are [...] 'Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendation, and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated' and [...] 'The records, documents and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations until those negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated.'"

Closed construction site

Update 12/16/2008: Construction contract out for bid
The construction contract for the new Boone Clinton Area Elementary School is currently out for bid. A pre-bid meeting will take place January 5, 2009. The deadline to submit bids and the bid opening is February 19, 2009. Complete information is available from the Public Buildings Commission.

Boone Clinton-area Elementary School