STORY.

>> IT WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED AND CONTROVERSIAL MOVE IN CHICAGO'S HISTORY.

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY CHICAGO BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS VOTED TO CLOSE 50 OF THE CITY'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO HELP ADDRESS THE BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET DEFICIT.

THIS HAPPENED DESPITE STRONG OPPOSITION FROM EDUCATORS, PARENTS, AND STUDENTS.

TONIGHT WE LOOK BACK AT THAT DECISION WHICH BECAME THE LARGEST MASS SCHOOL CLOSURE IN U.S. HISTORY AND THE IMPACT FELT IN COMMUNITIES A DECADE LATER.

JOINING US NOW ARE ALDER PERSON JEANETTE TAYLOR, ALSO THE NEWLY APPOINTED CLAIRE OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE.

AND A MEMBER OF THE CHICAGO BOARD OF EDUCATION WHEN THIS VOTE WAS TAKEN IN 2013.

HE'S BEEN A TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL IN THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM AND SERVED AT AS DEPUTY CHIEF OF EDUCATION.

THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.

SO, ALDER PERSON TAYLOR, LET'S START WITH YOU.

YOU MADE HEADLINES SOME YEARS AGO DURING A MONTH LONG HUNGER STRIKE BEFORE YOU BECAME ALDER PERSON.

ONE OF THE SCHOOLS WAS SAVED IN THAT ROUND.

HOW HAS THAT CLOSURE IMPACTED?

>> THE SCHOOLS ARE THE LAST STABLE FOUNDATION WE HAD IN THE COMMUNITY.

WHEN THEY CLOSED, WE'VE LOST A LOT OF FAMILIES.

WE LOST A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE.

I CAN'T TELL YOU THE NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN SCHOOL.

THE COMMUNITIES FEEL THIS.

WE HAVEN'T DECIDED WHAT TO DO WITH THEM.

THE COMMUNITY IS VERY ACCEPTS ACTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO.

THERE MA TO BE A REAL COMMUNITY PLAN.

>> YOU WERE ONE OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS WHO MADE THAT DIFFICULT DECISION TO VOTE ON WHETHER OR NOT TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL.

HOW DID YOU APPROACH THAT VOTE?

>> THIS WAS VERY DIFFICULT.

I'M A COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PRINCIPAL, AND I HAVE BEEN CONNECTED TO COMMUNITIES.

WE HAD 85 SCHOOLS ON THE LIST.

WE ALSO HAD A FIDUCIARY DUTY AS A BOARD MEMBER AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WANT TO HAVE EDUCATIONAL QUALITY.

MANY OF THE SCHOOLS HAVE VERY LIMITED NUMBER OF STUDENTS.

THEY NEEDED A LOT OF WORK.

PERSONAL I VISIT MANY OF THESE SCHOOLS.

THE CLOSURES, AS WELL AS THE RECEIVING ONES.

JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT RESOURCES WERE WITH THE TEACHERS.

THEN WE HAD TO TAKE THAT VOTE.

THIS HAPPENS SOMETIMES NATIONWIDE WHERE YOU HAVE TO MAKE HUGE DIFFICULT DECISIONS.

BUT I CAN TELL THAT YOU IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT I THINK DURING MY TIME.

IT WAS TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS.

WE VOTED 46.

SOME OF THEM WERE DELAYED.

AND I VOTED NO ON A FEW OF THEM AFTER HAVING WALKED THEM AND TAKEN A LOOK AT WHERE THE STUDENTS WERE GOING.

>> SO WHEN THE CLOSURES HAPPENED, THE CITY PROMISED THAT STUDENTS WOULD BE BETTER.

WE ACTUALLY HAVE A VIDEO CLIP THAT WAS POSTED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ITSELF OF THEN CEO TALKING ABOUT WHAT STUDENTS AND FAMILIES CAN EXPECT.

>> THE OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE HAVE A STEM SCHOOL.

I THINK THAT WHAT WILL HAPPEN AND WHAT OUR PARENTS WILL TAKE BACK AND SAY MY CHILD HAS A BETTER OPPORTUNITY.

>> VIDEO THERE FROM CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

WE ALSO KNOW THAT BARBARA BERG-BENNETT WOULD LATER END UP IN PRISON FOR CORRUPTION.

BUT RESEARCH SHOWED THAT STUDENTS ONLY DID MARGINALLY BETTER.

PROFESSOR, DID YOU THINK STUDENTS WERE BETTER OFF?

>> AT THE BEGINNING, WE TRACED BACK.

HOW THE STUDENT WERE DOING.

THEY WERE DOING WELL AT THE BEGINNING BECAUSE THEY HAD MORE RESOURCES.

OF COURSE, THAT'S MORE OF A LONGITUDINAL DECISION.

BUT AT THE BEGINNING THERE WAS POSITIVE FEEDBACK.

WE ALSO RECOMMENDED, I MYSELF, THAT MANY OF THESE SCHOOLS WOULD BECOME COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.

SOME OF THEM HAVE BECOME THAT, BUT IT'S PROCESS THAT HAS MOVED TOO SLOW.

>> ALDER PERSON TAYLOR, RESIDENTS WERE PROMISED THAT BUILDINGS WOULD BE TRANSFORMED.

OUR COLLEAGUES REPORT THAT LESS THAN HALF THE BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN REFURBISHED AT ALL.

IS THIS ENOUGH AFTER TEN YEARS?

>> ABSOLUTELY NOT.

WE FAILED AND WE DIDN'T KEEP OUR COMMITMENT.

THE COMMUNITY PROMISED THESE BUILDINGS WOULD TAKE ON THINGS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE.

CPS AND THE CITY OF CHICAGO HAVE MOVED WAY TOO SLOW.

>> AS NOW THE CHAIR HOW DO YOU PLAN ON ADDRESSING THAT?

>> WE DON'T AFTER REAL CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT ASSETS WE ACTUALLY OWN AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE.

WE NEED TO ENABLE TO HONOR THOSE SPACES AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REMEMBER THAT PEOPLE WANT SCHOOLS AND YOUNG PEOPLE CAN'T GO BACK.

YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

YOU TAKE AWAY A PIECE OF MY CHILDHOOD.

WE HAVE TO MAKE GOOD WITH THE COMMUNITY BUT ALSO MOVE FORWARD.

NOT CPS, NOT THE CITY OF CHICAGO BUT WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE.

>> PROFESSOR, LOOKING BACK, WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING?

>> PERHAPS WE WOULD NOT CONSIDER AS MANY.

WE WOULD TAKE MORE TIME.

EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE PUBLIC HEARINGS AND WE HEARD A LOT OF TESTIMONY, BUT PERHAPS IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN A SMALLER SECTION.

AND THEN MADE SURE THAT THOSE SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE REALLY BECOME COMMUNITY CENTERS SERVING STUDENTS, EVEN IN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS.

>> WE'VE HEARD THE WORD