Rahm Emanuel Discusses Plans To Build School On Possibly Toxic Site

Rahm Emanuel Discusses Plans To Build School On Possibly Toxic Site
FILE - This July 9, 2012 file photo shows Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel answers questions during a news conference in Chicago. Dozens of celebrities, elected officials, and others are blitzing through battleground states in the White House race?s final days. Their goal: give the presidential campaigns a daily presence in key states even when the men at the top of the ticket (and their running mates) pitch for votes elsewhere. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong. File)
FILE - This July 9, 2012 file photo shows Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel answers questions during a news conference in Chicago. Dozens of celebrities, elected officials, and others are blitzing through battleground states in the White House race?s final days. Their goal: give the presidential campaigns a daily presence in key states even when the men at the top of the ticket (and their running mates) pitch for votes elsewhere. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong. File)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke Sunday at the Gallistel Elementary Language Academy, discussing plans to construct a school near the Chicago Skyway and Indiana border. The idea is to build a space that would ease the overcrowding of schools in the neighborhood, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Preliminary environmental tests conducted last year at the proposed construction site found unsafe levels of chemicals in the soil and a leaking underground gasoline storage tank, reports the Chicago Tribune.

"It's a horrible site, and it would be terrible for students," Jose Garza, chairman of the local school council at Gallistel Elementary Language Academy, told the outlet last year.

A city spokesperson told the Tribune that environmental concerns would be taken care of in the future.

Still, parents recognize the need for another school in the community. According to the Sun-Times, parents have lamented the issue of school overcrowding since the 1990s.

“The days of deferring are over,” said Emanuel, according to the outlet. “For all of you that have been asking for this for years, this is your day. Take pride in it.”

Emanuel’s plans for the new school come after the district closed nearly 50 public schools this past year due to “underutilization.”

Before You Go

Slavery Examples Used On Math Worksheet

Controversial school-related documents from around the country

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot