Protesters Say Budget Cuts For Schools 'Making Things Worse'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A couple hundred demonstrators marched in the Loop on Thursday, protesting the millions of dollars in budget cuts imposed on Chicago schools.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports parents and students from the Brighton Park neighborhood chanted "Rahm Emanuel's got to go" as they marched through downtown.
The Kelly High School marching band, which is losing its instructor, led an impromptu march outside the office of Board of Education President David Vitale, after a rally downtown.
Students, Parents Protest School Cuts
One protester carried a sign saying, "Education is not a debt sentence."
Mayor Emanuel clearly was not very popular with the group. Parent Anita Caballero said the mayor's contention that he's improving schools makes no sense.
"How is he making things better? If anything, he's making things worse," she said.
She slammed the mayor's decision to provide $55 million in tax-increment financing for a new basketball stadium for DePaul University near McCormick Place.
"What is that? Is that making it better for our students?" she said.
Kelly is facing $4 million in budget cuts, and student Juan Estrada claimed they won't even have money for toilet paper.
"It is sad to see our school isn't going to have enough funds with toilet paper. We want CPS to hear us, and give us back these funds to our schools," he said.
