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Chicago backs off plan to name new high school after Obama

While Chicago has dropped plans to name a new school Obama College Prep, President Obama already has a dozen schools that bear his name.

By Frances Burns
U. S. President Barack Obama (R) hugs Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel after being introduced by the mayor at Hyde Park Academy in Chicago. UPI/Brian Kersey
U. S. President Barack Obama (R) hugs Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel after being introduced by the mayor at Hyde Park Academy in Chicago. UPI/Brian Kersey | License Photo

CHICAGO, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Five months after he announced a proposed selective high school in Chicago would be named Obama College Prep, Mayor Rahm Emanuel changed his mind.

In April, the mayor said President Barack Obama was "excited" about the school. On Thursday, Emanuel released a statement saying the city would find some other way to honor Obama, who spent much of his adult life there.

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"Over the last few months, my team has listened to questions and concerns from the community, ranging from location of the building to the naming of the school. We take that community input seriously, which is why -- as we continue to look for a thoughtful way to honor President Obama -- we will look for other possible names for this future school," Emanuel said.

Some critics had suggested a school in the Kenwood neighborhood, where Obama lives in Chicago, or in the area where Michelle Obama spent her childhood would be more appropriate than the proposed school in Chicago's North Side, a majority white area.

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The exact location of the new school, scheduled to open in 2017, is also somewhat controversial. The spot selected for it is now a public park and near another high school, which could mean parking problems.

Obama already has at least a dozen schools in the United States that bear his name from Hempstead, N.Y., to Los Angeles. He has also been honored by having his name used for species of fish, lichen, spider and an extinct lizard, and Antigua changed the name of its highest peak to Mount Obama.

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