A Part of Us Is Dying in Chicago
I can't reconcile the deep sense of community that filmmakers Amy and Tom Valens have captured in their 10-part video series about a year in the life of a public school in Boston, with the painful public clashes we're witnessing in Chicago - where 54 of the city's schools will soon be shuttered.
Indeed, although the nation's attention is fixed on the historic fight for marriage equality in the U.S. Supreme Court, a part of us is dying in the Windy City - and no one in the mainstream media seems to care.
No one disputes the fact that Chicago, like so many American cities, has real problems to solve. Population is down. Money is tight. School choice is growing. Tough decisions must be made.
By the same token, can anyone dispute that we have reason to worry about the state of our civic discourse when Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel, allows the announcement of something as contentious as 54 school closings while he is on a ski trip in Utah? And can anyone blame local community leaders who wonder what to think of the Mayor's plan to hold additional hearings on the issue? "If nobody is going to be heard at the hearings, what's the use of having the hearings?" said Marshall Hatch, a local pastor. "If it's a done deal, then stop
