Committee on Health and Environmental Protection
April 18, 2018 City Council Meeting
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on March 1, 2014, the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools ("CPS"), entered into a three-year maintenance contracts with Aramark Management Services Limited Partnership ("Aramark") and SodexoMAGIC, LLC ("SodexoMAGIC"), for a term commencing March 1, 2014 and ending February 28, 2017; and
WHEREAS, in January of 2018 the Chicago Board of Education approved spending of $535 million dollars to SodexoMAGIC and Aramark in exchange for cleaning services; and
WHEREAS, since entering into those contracts the overall number of workers cleaning schools has been cut from approximately 1,700 to 1,100; and
WHEREAS, recently custodians reported massive inefficiencies and failures of the contracts including: lack of supplies, understating, inappropriate disclosures of upcoming inspections and a practice of covering up failures to provide the contractual obligations of the maintenance companies; and
WHEREAS, reports that 91 of 125 schools failed cleanliness inspections have come to light, with health code violations including rodent and insect infestations, failure to provide hot water, and unsanitary food preparation areas and bathrooms; and
WHEREAS, it is reported that failing schools have been re-inspected, yet CPS has refused to release the results of those re-inspections to date; and
WHEREAS, the schools with the most egregious violations were disproportionately those schools serving economically disadvantaged children of color; and
WHEREAS, CPS' continued failure to institute transparent and responsible health inspection practices and oversight mechanisms has resulted in unsanitary conditions at schools that may be harmful to children, teachers and staff, as well as expose the City to legal and fiscal liability; and
WHEREAS, children, faculty and staff at CPS must finish out the school year in deplorable and potentially hazardous and unhealthy conditions; and
WHEREAS, CPS has failed to provide safe and adequate learning environments for teachers and students alike in those schools with violations;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the members of City Council call for a hearing before the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection to consider the state of sanitation and janitorial policies at CPS with representatives from SodexoMAGIC, Aramark, CPS, Premier Facilities Solutions and any other third party contractors providing maintenance or custodial services, or inspections of the same.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the above mentioned parties identify what measures and hiring practices are being undertaken to adequately and effectively address the sanitation deficiencies in CPS.
Alderman, 6th Ward