Ed Burke to create hotline for victims of sex abuse at Chicago Public Schools

Watch for Ald. Edward Burke (14) to create a hotline for parents and schoolchildren in his ward who may have experienced the nightmare of sex abuse and bullying at the hands of Chicago Public School employees.

“There will be two hotlines; one for Spanish speaking and one for English speaking residents,” said Burke, who decades ago, was one of the first alderman to tackle the scourge of child pornography in what became known as the “Chicken hawk” section of sex trafficking of children.

“The hotlines will involve bilingual layers so parents can communicate in confidence with advisors referring them to appropriate law enforcement or medical counseling,” Burke told Sneed.

RELATED

• CPS inspector general wants to take over student abuse investigations

• Emanuel apologizes for sexual violence to students at Chicago Public Schools

This support network, designed to provide our Southwest Side community with appropriate servers, “follows in the wake of utterly reprehensible disclosures of failures in our Chicago Public School system to protect our youngsters from school board personnel who have sexually abused them,” Burke said.

Sexual violence against Chicago Public School students has emerged as a potentially explosive issue in the crowded 2019 race for mayor. It comes in the wake of a Chicago Tribune probe which found the CPS system had failed repeatedly to protect students from sexual violence.

“Parents need to have access to confidential and professional advice so they can access appropriate care for their children,” said Burke. “Therefore we also plan to call upon tech companies who have the capacity to analyze school board electronic and computer devices to see if they may have been used to access child porn sites.”