I’ve got parents telling me they’re not sending their kids back to the Park District,” the always-outspoken alderperson said. That Park District … just went through a scandal and it was not honest with its citizens about what happened. We’ve got a how-we-treat-people problems. The controversy led to the ouster of Superintendent Mike Kelly and three of his top aides, as well as the resignation of Park Board President Avis LaVelle. She laid most of the blame on the Park District’s mishandling of, and painfully slow response to, the sexual harassment and abuse of lifeguards at the city’s pools and beaches. Jeanette Taylor (20th) didn’t buy the argument that a nationwide shortage is the primary factor hampering efforts to open those pools. The Park District manages 49 outdoor pools, 28 indoor pools and operates some Chicago Public Schools pools for community use. … My team is … going over different options of how many pools we can get open and how we can saturate the city as much as possible with our pool operations.” “We’re doing everything we can to get as many pools across the city open. We’re offering another class next week,” she added. … We’ve gotten some decent numbers this week in testing lifeguards. “We absolutely plan on opening pools on July 5. Those numbers are being matched to as many locations as we can get” while still providing “safe coverage around the city,” Johnson said Friday. “We are working on a summer pool operational plan to look at all pools across the city in comparison to our seasonal hiring. That includes waiving the residency requirement for lifeguards and offering a $600 bonus, up from an initial offer of $500. Under fire for keeping pools closed and lakefront beaches open during an oppressive heat wave, the Park District’s chief program officer, Daphne Johnson, told a joint City Council committee on Friday that the district is doing “everything we possibly can” to recruit lifeguards amidst a nationwide shortage.
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