ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

CHICAGO EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES TASK FORCE

September 14, 2010

Dear Parent Leader:

You are being contacted because you have demonstrated great interest in and concern about Chicago’s
public schools. In 2009, the Illinois General Assembly enacted a law creating the “Chicago Educational
Facilities Task Force” (“CEFTF”) to analyze CPS facility-related school actions and issue a report with
recommendations for reform. The CEFTF members include two members from each legislative caucus; a
designee for the Chicago Public Schools; and representatives of the Chicago Teachers’ Union, Chicago
Principals’ and Administrators’ Association, and four community-based groups. The law enacted by the
General Assembly calls for broad public input, including holding public hearings and focus groups with
people throughout the city to find out what stakeholders in public education think about the public school
system in Chicago. The CEFTF’s Subcommittee on Public Input is convening a focus group for
community-based organizations and is looking for people interested in participating.

We invite you to attend a focus group for parents of public school students on:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st, 2010 AT 11:30 AM

AT THE JAMES R. THOMPSON CENTER,100 W. RANDOLPH, ROOM 2-029
(A box lunch will be provided. Spanish language translation will be available.)

The meeting will be conducted by Mary Filardo, a national expert on school facility master planning who
serves as a pro-bono advisor to the CEFTF. We are looking for your opinions on all aspects of CPS
school actions, from the way decisions are made and communicated to the public, to the equity of the
distribution of funds. The participants’ identities will be kept anonymous in order to encourage open and
honest feedback on CPS facility practices, but the content of the discussion will be reported back to the
task force to guide our analysis. Similar focus groups are being held for teachers, principals, students,
community-based organizations, and elected officials.

The discussion will focus on your thoughts on CPS’ actions to close, consolidate, phase out,
“turn around” and/or open new schools; actions to repair and modernize existing school facilities;
and new school construction. In particular the Task Force is interested in learning from you about
steps that could be taken to improve CPS decision making and especially positive outcomes for our
public school students and communities. The meeting will last about two hours. (Please note: Childcare
will not be provided.) The resulting report will not include your name or any information that could identify
you. The information gathered during the group will be used to prepare a report to the Illinois General
Assembly, the Governor, and the Chicago Public Schools. The Task Force expects that key
recommendations will take the form of legislation to be introduced in the next full session of the General
Assembly. Thank you for considering this opportunity to provide your insights.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact John Keigher of the House Democratic Staff (217-557-
5193), or Becky Locker of the Senate Democratic Staff (217-782-1920).

Sincerely,

State Representative Cynthia Soto State Senator Heather Steans

Co-Chairs of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force