Judge rejects request to keep 10 Chicago schools open

A request by some parents of Chicago Public School students to keep open 10 elementary schools shuttered by the district has been rejected by a Cook County circuit court judge.

The Chicago Teachers Union filed the parents’ lawsuit, which argued the district ignored the recommendations of independent hearing officers it appointed. The hearing officers decided against the closing of 50 schools or expressed concerns about it.

However, Judge Thomas Allen ruled Wednesday the state legislature never specified the hearing officers had binding authority over school closure decisions.

Parents, backed by the CTU, also filed lawsuits in separate class-action cases recently heard in federal court. They asked Judge John Z. Lee to delay the closures for a year, saying black and disabled students will be unfairly affected by the closings.