Pilsen parents call fieldhouse demolition a ‘betrayal’ — CPS cites safety concerns
BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter August 17, 2013 12:08AM
Police keep protesters at bay as crews prepare the Whittier Elementary School fieldhouse for demolition. Sun-Times Photo by Maudlyne Ihejirika
Updated: August 17, 2013 12:45AM
The demolition of the Whittier Elementary School fieldhouse in Pilsen began under cover of night late Friday.
The mission from Chicago Public Schools brass: Demolish the fieldhouse, aka La Casita, which Whittier parents had fought to save in 2010, staging a 43-day sit-in that resulted in a victory — to date hollow.
CPS insisted the crews, which they said arrived at 6 p.m., were just removing asbestos Friday — with demolition to follow.
“Among the district’s top priorities is ensuring that our students have access to a safe and nurturing learning environment. The Field House at Whittier Elementary School has been deemed unsafe for occupancy over the last three years due to its advance state of deterioration and threat of the roof caving in,” CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll said in a written statement, as the Whittier community learned the crew was on site.
A community protest — the crowd swelling to as many as 200 at its peak — resulted in the arrest of three people, whom police said disobeyed orders to leave