Logan Square Aldermen, Parents Demand Surplus TIF Funds Go To Schools
(CBS) -- Students, parents and teachers in the Logan Square neighborhood were joined by local aldermen for a rally against cuts to the budgets of ten neighborhood schools totaling nearly $5 million.
There is concern that sports, the arts and after-school programs will be lost, along with teachers.
Aldermen Carlos Rosa, Millie Santiago and Joseph Moreno are backing a plan to use the city's surplus TIF funds to avoid cuts. They say if there's money to keep expanding charter schools, there's money to adequately fund the neighborhood schools.
Logan Square is a neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Rents and property values have been on the rise and affordable housing on the decline, displacing some residents.
Activists are also calling on the Chicago Housing Authority to invest in affordable housing after nearly 1,000 units of public housing were lost.