Chicago subjects children to a legacy of hatred and bigotry by having a school named after Maine congressman James G. Blaine.  In 1875, Blaine introduced a proposal for a new amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and this is what he is most remembered for today.  This hate-filled amendment specifically targeted the growing numbers of Catholic immigrants.  Blaine argued for explicit "religious bigotry ... to counter what was perceived as a growing 'Catholic menace' ... contemporary sources labeled the amendment part of a plan to 'institute a general war against the Catholic church.'...we would be hard pressed to divorce the amendment's language from the insidious discriminatory intent that prompted it."  (Arizona Supreme Court, Kotterman v. Killian, January 1999)

Blaine's bigotry persisted through his political career.  He eventually ran for president after being nominated at a convention that railed against "rum, Romanism and rebellion." He lost the election by losing a single state, New York.

Blaine and his ilk never did succeed in blighting the U.S. Constitution with his "Blaine Amendment". However, the language of the Blaine Amendment was added to many state constitutions, including that of the state of Illinois.

It's time to rename James G. Blaine School and erase its association with hate.