CPS skips permit in demolition of Whittier school fieldhouse

BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporters August 19, 2013 1:24PM

Demolition crews dismantling the fieldhouse behind Whittier Elementary in Chicago on Saturday, August 17, 2013. | Chandler West/For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: August 20, 2013 2:15AM

Mayor Rahm Emanuels handpicked school team was so concerned about the structural integrity of a Pilsen school fieldhouse and in such a rush to tear it down they didnt even wait to get a demolition permit, City Hall disclosed Monday.

Meanwhile, Whittier Elementary School parents and community members continued fund raising to offset legal fees of protesters arrested trying to stop Saturdays demolition, and begin a new battle to replace their La Casita Community Center.

City officials said Monday it was an administrative order rather than a demolition permit that was issued to the Chicago Public Schools by the citys Department of Buildings on Friday, paving the way for razing of the fieldhouse.

An administrative order allows buildings to be demolished on an emergency basis without a demolition permit, according to mayoral spokesman Bill McCaffrey.

The order was issued after the Department of Buildings reviewed the architects/structural engineers report that deemed the building was unsafe to occupy and a hazard to the community, McCaffrey wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to the report, the building is in a very advanced state of deterioration. The envelope has failed and the substrate is deteriorating. Some structural members have actually failed and other structural members are being deteriorated by the failure of the building envelope. The building is not safe for occupancy.

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CPS skips permit in demolition of Whittier school fieldhouse