South Siders savor last Red Line ride before 5-month shutdown

As he rode the last Red Line train north from 95th to Cermak early Sunday, Cleveland Jones acknowledged that the tracks fading away behind him wouldn’t be used again during five months of upcoming repairs, but he rolled his eyes at the accompanying hullabaloo. “What is this, the Last Supper?” asked Jones, 59, a Catholic school janitor from Gresham on his way to work. “It’s just like anything else in life. You’ve got to adjust.”

• SPECIAL REPORT: CPS closings create school zone, danger zone

  

  Like his classmates, Jaleel isn’t expected to finish 8th grade at Yale. CPS plans on shuttering the school, one of a record 54 the district says are under enrolled. If the closing plan is approved, CPS would send Jaleel and his classmates more than five blocks south to the Harvard School of Excellence. The difference between going to Harvard and Yale — and between other schools shutting down and the ones opening their doors to those students — is more than a matter of yards or blocks. Many parents fear their kids’ new routes will be more treacherous.

   

   

  View Video

  SPECIAL COVERAGE: The Final Bell

  Follow photojournalist Jessica Koscielniak on Instagram

  • Handful of CPS schools slated to close may be spared
  • Marchers, led by teachers union, speak out against school closings
  • Editorial: The hollow promise of a better school
• After Amtrak derailment Sunday, Metra schedule back on track
• 4 dead, 15 wounded in citywide gun violence
• 12 arrested near North Michigan Avenue
• Authorities: 1 killed, 4 critically injured in South Side crash