Children and parents at Whittier Elementary School in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood have occupied the school in a sit-in to protest a Chicago Public Schools decision to demolish a school field house. The field house, La Casita, has been used as a community center with activities for children, although the Chicago Public Schools have opted to spend $300,000 to demolish the building, claiming that La Casita is structurally unsound. But building engineers hired by community members have found that, despite a faulty roof, La Casita is generally sound, and community members have objected to using funds for demolition and asked that the money should instead be used to fund a working library for Whittier School which the school doesn't have.

A state of siege by Chicago police has been lifted since the sit-in began on Wednesday, September 15th, but the sit-in has continued 24/7 ever since, with robust support by community members, activist groups, and concerned residents, and have made appeals to fellow Chicagoans for help.

Photos: La Voz | Pilsen Prole

Additional coverage: Coverage from Anne Elizabeth Moore | Moore's Twitter page | Campaign of support by the Chicago Underground Library | Progress Illinois coverage