Dive Summary:

• On Wednesday, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system officially started closing down 28 out of 50 schools lined up for closure.
• CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett gave a speech defending the closures on Tuesday night as parents and students protested the closings, saying, "We as a district and as a city owe it to every single child whether it's 80 percent or 90 percent minority, second-language learners, African Americans... We owe that same level of quality to those children."

From the article:

Earlier, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis addressed the City Club. She also discussed race and poverty in education, and took a swipe at venture capitalists, who are some of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's unofficial advisors.

"There is something about those folks who use little black and brown children as stage props at one press conference while announcing they want to fire, layoff or lock up their parents at another press conference," said Lewis.