FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, please contact: Charna Epstein press@chicago47.

org 773-868-4747 Monday, September 12, 2011

LYCEE FRANCAIS I am pleased to announce my support for the proposed Lycee Francais school on the Ravenswood Hospital site. After months of discussions with Lycee and my office and conversations with the community, the school has chosen not to pursue TIF assistance. There are still some hurdles the school must get approval from the Plan Commission, City Council Zoning Committee and the full City Council. I am also happy to announce that Lycee Francais is going to partner with my office and the 47th Ward to provide cultural and educational programs to the children and families of the neighborhood. Below is a sampling of the partnership we envision: 1.After-school programsLycee workshops involve community partners in the arts, science, technology, sports and several foreign languages. 2.Summer campslanguage immersion programs in French, German, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic, as well as camps in filmmaking, sports, robotics, and science. Both my office and Lycee Francais are aware of the potential disruption that a major construction project can produce. Therefore, during demolition of the existing buildings at Damen and Wilson and throughout construction of the LEED-certified facility, Lycee will establish a go to committee that will include my office, members of the community, alongside our administrators and parents to ensure there is a real-time conversation about any issues that come up during construction. There will be additional community meetings and as always, you can continue to provide your input and suggestions by emailing us at info@chicago47.org. All comments will be published on our website (personal information will be redacted). If you would like to see the Zoning Information Form and the community feedback we received, please visit us at: http://chicago47.org/projects/zoning-2/.

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