CHICAGO, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- The Hull House charity in Chicago, founded by Jane Addams in 1889, is closing and will file for bankruptcy, the organization said.
The charity, which announced last week it planned to stay open through March, announced Wednesday it didn't have enough money to pay its staff and would close by the end of the week.
The Jane Adams Hull House Association is one Chicago's oldest social service agencies, serving about 60,000 people at 43 sites, and is a direct descendent of the settlement house founded by Adams, who became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Stephen Saunders, chairman of the Hull House, said the charity is millions of dollars in debt and can't afford to stay open.
"There was just no alternative," he told the Chicago Tribune. "We have to close our doors or we would owe more people money."
The Tribune said Hull House has been hurt by government funding cuts and an increased need for services. Revenue dropped from $40 million in 2001 to $23 million last June.
"We could not possibly raise enough money to sustain the organization," Saunders said.
