CHICAGO (IL)
CBS
July 16, 2018
By Jim Williams
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is checking the background of thousands of CPS employees following reports students were sexually abused by teachers and other adults.
CBS 2’s Jim Williams reports the effort is time-consuming for those who have to be fingerprinted.
“I’ve been here for 45 minutes, going on an hour,” stated Clare McCarthy, who has been a CPS teacher for more than 30 years. McCarthy said she had another hour to wait in order to be fingerprinted on Chicago’s northwest side.
“The last week of school I was notified to say ‘You’re going to have to have this done’, then I got an email saying ‘Nope, you don’t have to have it done, you’re okay’ and I was very excited about it. Then I got another email saying ‘You have to get it done,’” she said.
The background checks for all CPS employees comes after a Tribune investigation found hundreds of students were sexually abused over years.
“Right now we’re on track to complete that before the start of the school year,” stated CPS CEO Janice Jackson.
Jackson apologized to the victims in front of a supportive audience at the City Club Monday.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.