The occupation has ended but the struggle goes on…

The occupation of La Casita at Whittier was brought to a close tonight. The Whittier parents are declaring victory in the battle of La Casita as Ron Huberman’s office put in writing today the guarantee not to demolish the field house and to lease it to the parents group at $1 a year. However the war is far from over…

The issue of the library is yet to be resolved. CPS still insists that they can find space inside the school building for the library. The parents insist there is no space in the school and that the library should be located in the field house.

The parents insist that Huberman and Alderman Solis already agreed that TIF funds would be used to complete the repairs necessary at La Casita. Huberman’s letter today did not make this clear.

A half block away from Whittier is the abandon police station on Damen which has sat vacant for several years. The parents say that Solis promised them that the building would be used for an expansion of Whittier. But the city now claims this can’t be done because of concerns over asbestos in the building. The parents argue that TIF funds should be used to remediate the building and fund the expansion.

The parents are still ask supporters to contact Ron Huberman and insist that the library be located either in La Casita our somewhere else outside the already overcrowded school. That TIF funds pay for repairs to La Casita. And that the expansion of Whittier into the police station proceed. You can contact Huberman’s office at… 773-553-1550

For more tune into next Monday’s episode of Labor Express Radio - 10 am Monday morning on WLUW 88.7 FM or live online at… www.wluw.org

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