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Onahan parent says decade-old field project stalled; cites injuries and asks board to follow up
Summary
An Onahan Elementary parent told the Chicago Board the outdoor athletic field project has been stalled for about 10 years despite reaching 100% design and a promised 2023 budget allocation; he reported student injuries and said he has a CEO office letter to the 41st Ward alderman documenting the commitment.
Ed Howard, a parent representative and Local School Council co-chair at Onahan Elementary, told the board on Nov. 10 that a long-planned outdoor athletic and recreation field project has been delayed for roughly a decade and that the school community has suffered injuries because the current field is unsafe.
Howard said the project reached 100% design and that a 2022 letter indicated the project would be completed in the 2023 budget cycle, but it never proceeded to the Board of Education for approval. He said the unsafe conditions are creating injuries among students and described the field as affecting about 650 students at Onahan.
Howard also said he possesses a signed letter from the CEO’s office to 41st Ward Alderman Anthony Napolitano stating the project would take place and offered to answer follow-up questions outside the meeting.
Why it matters: Delays in facility projects can have safety and equity implications for students who use school athletic space; Howard requested board attention to an apparently stalled capital project.
Next steps: Howard asked board members to ask questions and said the Onahan community is available to provide documentation; no public board action on the project was announced at this meeting.
