Soto bill could prevent arbitrary school closings

Don Moore from Designs for Change tells us that Rep. Cynthia Soto's House Bill 363, mandating clear criteria for any more school closings in Chicago, comes up for a vote tomorrow, April 3rd.

According to Don:

Speaker Madigan insisted that if the bill is to be called for a vote (a process which he controls), three important provisions must be removed from the bill. We have considered the options and strongly believe that the critical portions of HB 363 that are still in place will make a major improvement in the way that facilities are built, repaired, and closed in Chicago, even though the portions removed are harmful, especially to schools that hoped that the recent school closings would be reversed.

We urgently need you to call your own House representative and House leaders. Even though the bill will come up for a vote, the school board is lobbying furiously against it. Without a barrage of phone calls to legislators, there is no guarantee it will pass the House.