To Protest CPS Issues, Group Gives Play Money to Winnetka Residents

Chanting "No justice, no peace," about 40 people protested Chicago Public School (CPS) policies at the intersection of Blackthorn Road and Pine Street in Winnetka, where a CPS executive lives, on Thursday.

According to organizers, the protest was intended to highlight the "rent-a-protester" controversy at CPS. There are allegations that organizations funded by CPS paid people to support CPS's intention to close underperforming schools, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The story said people were given $25 to attend CPS hearings on the issue and support school closings.

The protesters in Winnetka passed out literature and offered $25 in play money if residents would close down their local schools.

Action Now, a community-based organization of working families in Chicago, bussed people from the Englewood and Lawndale neighborhoods to the North Shore suburb, where CPS Chief Administrative Officer Tim Cawley lives.

"We asked him to give our schools necessary funding to make our schools better and to ask CPS to stop paying our neighbors to go to community meetings ... to close down turnaround schools," said Brooke Doaks, 24, an education organizer for Action Now. "We're talking about every school on CPS's school action list, which is about 15 schools total."

One protester said Winnetka residents were mostly receptive to their points.

"Cawley wasn't home, but I'm sure his neighbors were aware of what went on and he will hear about it," said Lajuan Criswell, 28, of North Lawndale. "He doesn't seem to listen to the community, so we brought the community to him."

The administrative assistant said she participated in the protest after attending a CPS meeting about the closure of her 7-year-old daughter's elementary school.

"My issue is that someone who lives in a completely different city [Winnetka] is making decisions about my child's school, and I don't think he's really interested in what's best for my child," Criswell said. "He's not willing to put his child in CPS; he shouldn't be the one saying what's best for my child."

Criswell also disagreed with the CPS agenda to close down schools and fire entire staffs.

"I don't know why we cannot look at individual performance rather than take out entire staffs," said Criswell, who has a family member who has worked for CPS for more than 20 years. "I think some of the curriculum could be better, [but] the main thing is that they are lacking hands-on programs."

Patch contacted the communications department at CPS but did not receive a call-back.

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