© 2024 Peoria Public Radio
A joint service of Bradley University and Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Chicago officials to reopen high school after fiery protests

Chicago school officials say they'll open a new arts-focused school in a neighborhood school once slated for closure. The move comes after protesters disrupted Mayor Rahm Emanuel's budget meetings this week.

Parents and activists have opposed the phased-out closure of Walter H. Dyett High School in the historically black Bronzeville neighborhood for years. 

School officials cited poor performance and declining enrollment in their decision, but in June said they'd consider proposals to reopen.

Last month activists began a hunger strike, urging their plan of a community partnership for a green technology school.

Schools CEO Forrest Claypool says the school will serve the neighborhood.  But parent and hunger striker Jeanette Taylor-Ramann says it's "baloney" and they'll continue protesting.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.