Chicago trade school students blindsided as federal Job Corps cuts shut school down
Hundreds of students in the Chicago area are not sure where to turn after the federal government pulled funding for their trade school, which is now closing at the end of the month.
Students at the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center, 3348 S. Kedzie Ave., said they were blindsided by the decision.
Job Corps is a free program for thousands of low-income students across the country who will be affected. Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would suspend operations at its 99 Job Corps centers due to budget constraints.
Thus, students at the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center were seen packing their bags and moving out of their student housing Wednesday afternoon. But it was not because of summer vacation.
"It's hard to get opportunities like this," said Charles Wright.
Wright and Areeya McNeil are on the school's student government association. They said they came to the Job Corps trade school to get a job with a free education.
"I was looking for a change in my life. I wanted to become something better," said McNeil. "I heard about Job Corps, and I signed up."
Now they, along with 25,000 students across the country, are losing their housing, education, and career training due to what the federal government calls a "phased pause" in the Job Corps program.
"This came out of the blue. We were actually on our first SGA field trip, and we got the news," said McNeil, "and it just hit us — like, we're closing? We're not even done yet."
It was last week when the U.S. Department of Labor announced the shutdown of the 99 Job Corps centers across the country — which includes locations in Chicago and Joliet.
The department said the decision aligns with President Trump's 2026 budget. The department added that in 2024, the program was in a $140 million deficit, and is expected to cost another $213 million this year.
The federal government added that the program has had thousands of serious incident reports — including sexual assaults, drug use, and violence.
The Department of Labor said while the pause goes into effect on June 30, there is no hard deadline for students to move out. They say each center to should support the students with that process.
"Since we're closing down, I might like go to a shelter and finish college there," said McNeil. "We'll see."
McNeil and Wright are two of the 2.2 million people whom Job Corps said it has helped since the program started. They do not want to leave the 33-acre Paul Simon Chicago campus off the Stevenson Expressway.
"We have no control over the situation and things like that, and it's really unfair," said Wright.
McNeil and Wright said they are using what they have learned so far to try to land a job. Meanwhile, Job Corps said it is suing the Department of Labor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
34 minutes ago
Pope meets with child protection advisory board as survivors call for zero tolerance of abuse
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Vatican's child protection advisory commission on Thursday for the first time amid questions about his past handling of clergy sex abuse cases and demands from survivors that he enact a true policy of zero tolerance for abuse across the Catholic Church. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which is made up of religious and lay experts in fighting abuse as well as survivors, called the hourlong audience a 'significant moment of reflection, dialogue, and renewal of the church's unwavering commitment to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people.' The group said it updated history's first American pope on its activities, including an initiative to help church communities in poorer parts of the world prevent abuse and care for victims. The Vatican did not provide the text of Leo's remarks or make the audio of the audience available to reporters. Pope Francis created the commission early on in his pontificate to advise the church on best practices and placed a trusted official, Boston's then-archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, in charge. But as the abuse scandal spread globally during Francis' 12-year pontificate, the commission lost its influence its crowning recommendation — the creation of a tribunal to judge bishops who covered up for predator priests — went nowhere. After many years of reform and new members, it has become a place where victims can go to be heard and bishops can get advice on crafting guidelines to fight abuse. O'Malley turned 80 last year and retired as archbishop of Boston, but he remains president of the commission and headed the delegation meeting with Leo in the Apostolic Palace. It has often fallen to O'Malley to speak out on egregious cases that have arrived at the Vatican, including one that remains on Leo's desk: The fate of the ex-Jesuit artist, the Rev. Marko Rupnik, who has been accused by two dozen women of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse over decades. After coming under criticism that a fellow Jesuit had apparently received preferential treatment, Francis in 2023 ordered the Vatican to waive the statute of limitations on the case and prosecute him canonically. But as recently as March, the Vatican still hadn't found judges to open the trial. Meanwhile, the victims are still waiting for justice and Rupnik continues to minister, with his supporters defending him and denouncing a 'media lynching' campaign against him. Leo, the Chicago-born former Cardinal Robert Prevost, has been credited by victims of helping to dismantle an abusive Catholic movement in Peru, where he served as bishop for many years. But other survivors have asked him to account for other cases while he was a superior in the Augustinian religious order, bishop in Peru and head of the Vatican's bishops' office. The main U.S. survivor group, SNAP, has also called for Leo to adopt the U.S. policy calling for any priest who has been credibly accused of abuse to be permanently removed from ministry. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
New York judge halts Job Corps closings; 100 Milwaukee staffers spared for now
After thinking they were going to get laid off, staff members at the Milwaukee Job Corps Center might still have jobs after all, even though the U.S. Department of Labor announced it was cancelling contractor-operated centers. On June 4, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter Jr. granted a temporary restraining order halting the Labor Department and Secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer from closing the facilities without congressional approval. The Job Corps center in Milwaukee, 6665 N. 60th St., is operated by Horizons Youth Services based in Virginia; it has about 100 staffers that could be affected by any changes. 'We were pleased and excited with the court's decision to grant the Temporary Restraining Order and that the closure of Job Corps Centers has been stopped," Nolyn Fueller, president of Horizons, said in a statement. "The students that we serve deserve and need the opportunities that Job Corps provides. I hope that the facts and figures contained in the Transparency Report are further reviewed and more accurate statistics are shared regarding the success and safety of Job Corps campuses. Job Corps positively changes lives.' On May 29, the Labor Department announced it was closing contractor-operated centers due to low graduation rates, high costs and safety issues. 'Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,' Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement at the time. 'However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program's possibilities.' Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, has been a strong supporter of the Jobs Corps program and sent a letter to Chavez-Deremer on June 3 urging that the decision be reversed. After the court's June 4 ruling, Baldwin issued a statement: 'Gutting a program that is a proven way to connect Wisconsinites with careers and helps businesses and the trades get the skilled workers they need is a huge mistake. While students and employers are both left in the lurch about whether the training, housing, and support they were promised will continue, President Trump could stop this chaos if he just ended this crusade to make room in his budget for big corporate tax cuts, and instead prioritized Wisconsin working families and businesses.' The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reached out to the Labor Department but has not received any comment. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New York judge halts Job Corps closings affecting 100 Milwaukee staff
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Maryland launches new loan program for laid-off federal workers
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th) addressed a crowd of hundreds outside NOAA's Silver Spring headquarters in March, just days after the Trump administration cut hundreds of jobs from the agency. (Photo by Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters) Marylanders affected by federal layoffs this year can now apply for an interest-free state loan to help them pay the bills in the short term, according a press release Thursday from the state Department of Labor. The Federal Emergency Loan Program is directed at the thousands of Maryland residents who have lost jobs in the federal government so far since the Trump administration began slashing the federal workforce to cut down federal spending. The loan program was created this year under the new Protect Our Federal Workers Act, sponsored this year by Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's) and signed into law in April. The law expands the use of two current employee-assistance funds so they apply to federal workers laid off as the Trump administration rushes to slash the size of government. It also expands the authority of the attorney general's office to take legal action on behalf of laid-off federal workers in some instances, and it creates an expedited state hiring program for workers who lost jobs due to administration cuts. 'Let's be clear — these federal workers didn't lose their jobs because they failed us,' Lewis said in a written statement. 'They lost them because of reckless decisions in Washington that turned public servants into political targets. These are our neighbors, our veterans, our civil servants — people who dedicated their lives to this country.' Federal layoffs drag down state employment gains for second month, new numbers show The program offers a $700 interest-free loan for residents who qualify. Those residents must have been terminated from a federal job since Trump took office, in a mass layoff, relocation, or closure of a unit of the federal government, or in a similar situation beyond their control. Former federal workers must also demonstrate that they are experiencing 'financial hardships' caused by the loss of their job in the loan application. Recipients have 180 days to pay the loan back, though they can ask for a 90-day extension if hardships continue. Federal contractors are not eligible for the loan. 'This loan program is an important piece of Maryland's larger effort to respond to federal job loss, providing emergency financial assistance while we are also working to connect thousands of Marylanders to new job opportunities and help with career transition,' Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu said in a written statement Thursday. Maryland's workforce is uniquely susceptible to the effects of the federal layoffs, and its economy is heavily reliant on federal employment, due to the state's proximity to Washington, D.C., though the exact scope of the impact to the state is challenging to calculate, according to labor department officials. So far, about 1,600 federal unemployment claims have been filed since the Trump administration started in January, the department said. In addition to the new loan program, the Moore administration is also working to connect laid-off federal workers with state jobs, among other measures, in an effort to mitigate those impacts. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
