Chicago not naming high school after Barack Obama after all

(Image credit: The White House/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced recently that the city's newest selective enrollment high school would be named in honor of President Obama. Now, however, amid controversy, Emanuel said in a statement that his administration "will look for other possible names for this future school."

"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," the mayor said.

The controversy over the school mostly centers around its proposed location. As the Chicago Tribune reports: "Some wondered why Obama College Prep was not being built on the South Side in the president's Kenwood neighborhood or in the community where first lady Michelle Obama grew up, rather than in a well-to-do part of the predominantly white North Side."