Ald. Napolitano says CPS has backtracked on commitment to fund new sports field at Onahan School on Chicago’s NW Side

by BRIAN NADIG

Chicago Public Schools is reneging on an agreement to build a new sports field at Onahan School, 6634 W. Raven St., according to Alderman Anthony Napolitano (41st).

The current playing surface consists of grass and weeds that has grown over asphalt, and the hard surface has led to numerous students breaking bones or suffering other injuries, Napolitano said. He said 8 or 9 children have been injured.

In a letter to the school community, Napolitano said:

“As many of you know, I have advocated relentlessly for this project, attending numerous Chicago Public Schools Board of Education meetings and pressing CPS leadership to prioritize the health and safety of Onahan’s students.

“In 2022, my office received written confirmation from CPS that the multi-purpose field project would be included in the FY 2023 capital plan.. … Unfortunately, CPS is now backing away from that commitment.”
The plan called for the school to receive a field that would include separate turf and grass areas, a rubber surface running track, a scoreboard, lights and storm water management features at cost of $4.6 million, but the school system now projects the cost to be closer to $8 million, according to Napolitano.

“CPS claims it can only ‘earmark’ $1 million for the project — leaving the school to find the rest of the funding elsewhere. This is deeply troubling,” Napolitano said.

Since 2021 the school system capital budget has totaled around $3.4 billion, Napolitano said. “Yet CPS is unwilling to allocate a few million toward Onahan’s field, which directly affects student safety,” he said.
Napolitano said it’s unfair and unrealistic for the school system to expect the Onahan community or ward to come up with the additional $7 million for the project.

“On my end, aldermen receive $1.5 million annually for ward infrastructure improvements. The average cost to resurface a street is about $75,000, meaning an alderman can fix only about 20 streets per year. But in the 41st Ward alone, we have over 700 streets, with more than 300 needing attention.

“Our local infrastructure budget is already maximally stretched. It is simply unreasonable to expect the City Council or the 41st Ward to fill CPS’s multi-million-dollar funding gap meant for school infrastructure.”

And make no mistake: the Onahan field isn’t just “nice to have,” Napolitano said.

He added, “It is unacceptable for CPS to shift the burden of core, promised infrastructure improvements onto parents, school communities or elected officials, whose funds are already earmarked for streets, sidewalks, and basic city services.

“The bottom line is this: a project of this size and cost cannot be funded through aldermanic infrastructure dollars, fundraising or outside grants. The only viable and appropriate path to completing this project is through the CPS capital budget. CPS must honor its commitment to Onahan.”

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