i think you're going to be in for a fairly rough ride. that's all for us tonight. "chicagoland" premieres right now. cnn's original series "chicagoland" is proudly presented by alstate. are you in good hands? >> chicago is a quintessential american city at the crossroads of change. it's a story that could be told in many cities across the country. welcome to the premiere episode of "chicagoland." >> you want to see america, you come to its heardland. and what is the capital of that heartland? chicago. >> everybody. >> you work hard, you play hard, and you show up the next day. >> chicagoans do not put up with

the bull -- >> there's no city like chicago. then you start coming out into the neighborhoods and it's a little different. >> hurry up. >> my world is all about winning at people's worst nightmares. >> this is just like a third world country. >> i look at myself as a parent of hundreds of kids. >> get out of the street! >> why are you crying? >> there are no other options. >> what are you trying to achieve? >> right now i'm trying to save chicago. >> any particular part of chicago? >> all of it. >> people know chicago is rising to the top. we don't get enough credit. >> today we sent a message to the world! >> show them who we are. >> springtime in chicago is a celebration that doesn't last very long. the warm weather that pushes

tulips from their beds and invites kids back outside to play brings with it a warning. watch out, things are about to heat up. >> when the first day? i'm going to be in town, right? >> chicago's famous for power politics. for generations, the mayor was better known as "boss" and his political operation was called the machine. >> it's rahm. >> the daley family ran chicago for decades. now for the first time in more than 20 years, there's a new boss in town. rahm emanuel.

>> because of the people of chicago, this is the warmest place in america. >> emanuel has come home to chicago with an impressive resume. senior aide to president clinton, six years in congress and later served as chief of staff for president obama. emanuel got things done. tough. unrelenting. his enemies called him rahmbo. >> you're known as a bit of a roman kandzle with a temper. what is the angriest you've gotten in the first 100 days? >> that i had to do this interview in the middle of everything else. yesterday i swam a mile, biked four, weights, then a yoga class. obsessive about it. >> obsessive. that sums up rahm emanuel.

>> there's 400,000 kids that go to our schools. we have the capacity for 500,000. certain schools that were 200 kids when they were able to handle 600. >> the school system faces a $1 billion budget gap. >> very difficult decision. nobody likes to do it, which is why people haven't done it in the past. i'm not an education reformer. i believe in educational excellence, and i will adapt any reform that gets me there. >> shame on the mayor! >> the 64 schools on the chopping block is the largest consolidation in u.s. history. >> don't let these people take your schools. >> for mayor emanuel, the guy who helped president obama save the auto industry, the chicago

school crisis right in his wheel house. >> you never want a serious chris toys go to waste. what i mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before. >> the mayor is taking a risk with his bold school plan. while it might make sense because of the budget crisis and declining enrollment, many parents fear it puts their kids at risk, because they'll have to walk across dangerous gang lines to attend new schools. >> rahm emanuel thinks he can just come into our schools and move the kids over the gang lines and say we can take this school out, we don't care about these kids. but these kids need safety. >> deshawn is speaking out for the 30,000 kids affected by the closings. >> you should be supporting these schools, not closing them! we are not toys.

we are not going down without a fight! >> this has to be done in a very thoughtful way. we have to make the changes that are necessary, so our children don't continue to go to schools that are not achieving the goals they need to achieve academically. >> how would you respond to neighborhood residents who say if one kid gets hurt, the mayor has blood on his hands? >> my responsibility hurts when doors to the future of a child are closed. 56% of african-american male adolescents are dropping out. i'm accountable as every parent, every teacher, every principal is to turning that around. >> there's going to be a lot of death on his hands if these schools close. >> the truth is, going to school in certain parts of chicago is risky enough. and in roseland, a tough

neighbor had on the far south side where president obama was a community organizer, warring gang factions remain a constant threat to student safety. >> how is it going, commander? what time in the morning was this? at the school? who are the students? and the boys that it's related to? i have good relationships with all those kids. i'm going to talk to them. somebody was shooting at the kids on the way to school this morning. >> fender high school principal liz dozier is on a mission, to give her kids a shot at a better future. >> this is why i hate the warm weather. it begins to slowly heat up. but there's a larger ongoing gang complex within the community, and like the school, we sit like in the middle of this. >> an important part of the principal's job is to keep tabs on gang conflicts and make sure her students are safe at school. >> i am looking for shelton.

you don't know what happened? >> no. >> how many shots were fired? >> like three. >> and you don't know what direction they were shooting in? >> no. >> have you heard of any conflicts in the neighborhood? >> no. i'm not from around here. i don't know what be going on. >> he was like no, i don't know what's going on. >> amnesia. >> right. >> were they from a car or just walking by? >> just people just like walking i believe. >> and started shooting? >> yeah. one person. >> it's hell. >> it's times like this when the fear is all too real for principal dozier. in 2009, the brutal murder of one of her students was caught on video and broadcast worldwide on the internet. >> simply sickening is about the only way to describe it. pictures taken on a cell phone of the kid pounding another kid with a wooden board. that teenager who just got hit is 16-year-old darrion albert,

and he's dead now. >> just weeks into the new school year, darrion albert got caught up into a brawl and was beaten to death. >> someone said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. he was coming from school! >> fear that the walk to school might be deadly is a crazy paranoia. it's real. darrion albert will always be a reminder. >> the climate in the school is just absolutely abysmal. like massive gang fights in the hallways. 300 arrests that first year. we had to have literally two districts worth of police in the building for us to be able to change classes one day. it was a scary time in times of like what's happened to our children? >> four years later, significant progress has been made. >> we'll check you right in. hey, how is it going? >> going good. >> hey, sweet heart, how are

you? >> i don't have biological children, but i'm assuming it must be what a parent feels like when they have to send their kid out in the world. i just worry about them. >> gentlemen, gentlemen, not going to happen, not today. keep it moving! i'm not going to say it again! get out of the street! >> he's headed south bound on 112th and emerald. principal down, principal down, i broke my shoe. can you assist me? i'm at 112th and emerald. i broke my shoe. you got to see me, i'm walking down emerald, i don't have no damn shoes on, none. ♪

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two years into his first term as mayor, rahm emanuel has unveiled his boldest plan yet, the pro-posed closing of 54 public schools. the midterm brings a flurry of speculation. >> two-year anniversary of rahm. >> when you consider the year he had kind of getting waxed by the teacher's union in that strike and the number of shootings, he had a pretty rough year. right now there's nobody on the horizon who is going to run against him. >> there never will be. that's the daley way. you call out people and destroy them. rahm emanuel is richard daley with a circumcision. he's a continuation of that kind of politician. >> i will say, though, this school closing coming up, they have 54 on the dock, people are

predicting real chaos, real disturbance. >> this is our schools, our children, and our babies that you're hurting. rahm emanuel, take your ass off our school! >> just seven weeks before the final vote to close schools, there's one thing on everyone's mind, how to keep kids safe as their walk through school takes them through hostile gang territory. >> it's going to be specific. >> there will be a presence? >> yes. >> all right, good. thank you, everybody. >> most of chicago's neighborhoods are safe. but parts of the city are plagued by gun violence. emanuel promised to take on chicago's shooting problem, and when it came time to pick a top cop, he chose an outsider, gary mccarthy from the bronx.

in new york city, he developed comparative statistics to combat crime. in newark, new jersey, his strategy led to a drop in the murder rate. >> the county board of commissioners commending gary mccarthy for keeping the space. >> a little more than a year, the local mess hailed him a hero. but by the end of 2012, the number of homicides skyrocketed to more than 500 and some were calling his job. >> my biggest issue is dealing with gangs, guns, and the press. not cultural change in the department, not acceptance of an outsider. none of those things. they all pail in comparison to those challenges right there, and the media, they keep talking about the rising toll of gun violence in chicago, while the numbers are going in the other direction. >> while the press continues to focus on chicago's violence, there's been a decline. in 2012, there were 161 murders

in the first quarter. in 2013, there were 93. that's more than a 40% reduction. >> we're taking a more wholistic approach to crime in chicago than i think has been done in most places in the country. >> what are you trying to achieve? >> i'm trying to save the world. can't you tell? right now i'm trying to save chicago. >> you're trying to save chicago. any particular part of chicago? >> all of it. >> chicago has one of the worst, most difficult, most detractable gang violence problems in the country. >> maybe there's something in the water here. in the '60s, the latin kings ruled. then came the leader of the gangster disciples. willie lloyd, king of the vice lords. that fell apart in the '90s when

top gang lieutenants were sent to prison and most of chicago's public housing high rises were torn to the ground. >> when they did that, they turned the street into chaos. so now it's every man for himself. >> in the '80s, there were five dominant gangs in chicago. now there are more than 70. and 600 gang factions. in all, 70,000 gang members. >> what the hell is going on? >> the gang situation is there, man. it's about cliques. >> every two to three blocks is a different faction of a block. >> two or three blocks away from each other. >> this community against that community. >> people get mad over the little -- looking at your girl, step on your shoe. you want to kill them. >> i done lost too many [ bleep ] it's iraq, it's real. >> children start claiming gangs as young as kindergarten.

>> by the time a kid gets to high school, his gang affiliation can become his identity, even a lunchroom fight can turn into a gang war. >> who was the other girl? i need you to go in there and get that. >> but four years after darrion albert's tragic murder, they have transformed the culture here. >> ladies, it's too loud. >> there are two kids arguing, figure out what the issue is. if we don't get to the root of it, it will continue to bubble up until it will explode. >> good afternoon, everyone. >> good afternoon. >> what i'm thankful for is the fact that we can sit in the peace circle and talk about what's going on. and then we can decide from this particular point how do we move forward from it? >> i began to bring in the practices of restoretive justice, which is justice that

heals. >> in the past, the girls would have been suspended. now they take part in the peace circle. >> my friend got gunned down over he said, she said stuff. so just let it go. >> i am cool with each and every one of you guys because i love you. >> in 2009, this was identified as a failing school that needed to be saved. principal dozier was hired and given broad authority. she received a four-year federal grant to turn the school around. >> it was about $1.8 million of additional funding to give kids what they need in terms of program. i've been able to provide a couple full-time reading teachers, home advocates that bring parents in. all these types of programs are tied to this money. >> basically at the end of this

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come may, chicago's tech startups start to bloom. the mayor has a lot of responsibilities but makes it a priority to visit chicago's tech hub. >> we have an office and we have revenue. >> 1871 is this interesting sort of experiment. 50,000 square feet,

entrepreneurs have these working sessions to change the status quo, as well as hopefully make money. >> you come in here and you feel like you've gotten into harvard business school. >> the trick is, focus on the one and do it really well. i love this. this is great. >> the city now has a center of gravity to the digital economy. >> the mayor is energized by the new start-ups at 1871. and the young scholars back at city hall who hope to become part of the new digital economy. at a city council meeting, he sets aside a moment to honor chicago's gate scholars. >> chicago has 35 gates scholar winners, the most of any other public school in the country. >> there's only three weeks before the board of education votes on which schools to close, and some parents are growing desperate. >> we are putting out greatest

of hopes in you. but the test won't be today or your graduation. you will get knocked down, and it's in the valley that your character gets revealed, not at the peak. >> parents continue to voice their objections to the mayor's plan, but the most vocal critic is the chicago teacher's union. >> he is the murder mayor. look at the murder rate in this city. he's murdering schools, he's murdering good jobs, he's murdering housing. i don't know what else to call him. he's the murder mayor. >> chicago teacher's union president karen lewis is mayor emanuel's most outspoken opponent. >> it's the largest teacher strike this country has teen in two decades. >> in 2012, she led teachers out on a week-long strike and faced off with rahm emanuel.

>> he's a liar. and a bully. >> this is the wrong choice for our children. >> it was a bitter fight. when it was over, both sides claimed victory. lewis and the teachers walked away with a better contract. and the mayor got his longer school day, and longer school year. >> do you feel you have won this strike? >> absolutely. >> you had a strike. i don't know, kids got a longer school day. >> hey, guys. how are you? >> hi! >> have you been quiet and patient? >> yes. >> better than the mayor, because i'm not quiet or patient. in that order. you know how any adult always says be careful with sharp

objects? i was working somewhere and i was working with a sharp object, and i wasn't careful. i had a cut and i had to go to the doctor and a hospital for a while. so when somebody says, don't play with sharp objects, like doesn't your teacher always say no running with the scissors? they're all saying that to be careful, and i was careless and something happened. >> all right, guys, see you later. >> chicago public school students are mostly african-american and latino. only 9% are white. many students come from poor, single parent families and need extra support at school. when federal money runs out, those kids might suffer the most. >> is he in anger management? let me talk to him, because he and i have a pretty good relationship. okay, now we're going to back that up. >> she said i said some curse words, talking about some -- i

never said the f bomb. >> hopefully with anger management, you do have to check in with the social worker, you talk about it and the more you talk about it, the more it will help you feel better inside so you don't feel so stressed. >> schools become these dropout factories, and really has to do with issues happening at home that no one is addressing at the school. this is the last stop for 98% of the kids here. if we don't get them off into something else, like there are no other options. >> thousands of children in the city live in neighborhoods where a funeral for a teenager is considered unfortunate but not unusual. those are the odds that so many young people are facing in the

city. >> when first lady michelle obama returns home to chicago to raise money for at-risk kids, she reflects on the recent murder of a 15-year-old band majorette, shot in the back on her way from school just weeks after performing at president obama's second inauguration. >> hidea pendleton was me and i was her. but i got to grow up. at the end of the day, this is the point i want to make, that resources matter. today, too many kids in the city are living just a few l stops from world class museums and universities, yet all of that might as well be in a different state, even in a different continent, because many of them don't even know that the university of chicago exists. let alone dream of attending that university or any university for that matter. because instead of spending their days enjoying the

abundance of riches the city has to offer, they are consumed with watching their backs. >> my name is dominique brooks. i have been jumped on. i stayed in the hospital for a long time. i don't feel i'm safe. [ applause ] >> kids at lanier elementary, one of 54 schools slated to school, will have to walk across vision street. that might not sound like a big deal, but it is. >> we can't even walk that way. it's just crazy.

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the mayor courtside at the united center cheers on the scrappy bulls who refuse to go down without a fight. two weeks before the final vote to close schools, parents and teachers also refuse to go down without a fight. >> it's criminal to take these children out of the safety of this environment and this school. i know it's numbers, i get it. but we are their families. we are parenting these children. >> emanuel, well, he's been at the center of unpopular decisions like this before. he's never backed down. and nobody expecting him to start now. >> i've been fortunate to work for two really good presidents. and i've learned a lot from both of them. when i was going through it, being chief of staff, every chief of staff hates it. it is the most difficult job in america. there's a target on your back,

nothing you do anybody likes. and you've got to make sure it works for the president. and then when you make your decision, you're not done, because everybody else says you're an idiot. the first nine months to a year, i had this joke with the president. because we would go like from the auto meeting, the next would be the financial meeting. the next would come in, the economy is collapsing. the next is afghanistan sun raffling. we have to get out of iraq. and you would go from meeting to meeting and have to make all of these decisions. i used to say to him, you know, mr. president, i really don't want to make anymore decisions. so we joked when we got out of the white house, we were going to set up a little t-shirt shack in hawaii that looked right out to the beach. we were going to sell one color, white, one size, medium. we would have to make a decision, because we were done. >> liz dozier knows a thing or

two about having a stressful jock. >> finger is always somewhere in my brain rumbling around. i think about like are the kids safe, what are they doing? >> they work on an anti-violence strategy to take to the streets. >> one of the things that mr. spicer brought to the table about two years ago was a peace walk. i didn't feel we were ready for that as a school. i think this year we're ready for it. we can take the whole school out, so i'm excited. i met with the police commander a couple weeks ago to talk about helping to kind of secure the route so we could be stationary along the route. the other thing we were thinking about is it being a silent walk, to have the kids walk through the community in absolute silence. >> we're silencing the violence. >> that's it. that's it!

>> despite all the neighborhood violence, fenger students continue to push for their peace march. >> it's like people that are gang banging and stuff, so you figure why not let us walk through our neighborhoods. >> we done seen how the school done changed and how the community has bettered itself. >> there's pros and cons to this walk. >> it wouldn't be a good idea without the police force. still at the same time, there's still violence. >> more deadly violence breaks out on chicago's streets. at least eight people died and 40 people were hurt. >> with the warmer weather, shootings are escalating. even in broad daylight. >> kind of blew up in a couple different areas. >> eight murders in the 28-daytime frame as opposed to three last year.

>> it's times like these that the superintendent holds his district commanders accountable. >> i want a little bit of analysis on this. the way the system is designed, we gave you the cops, we want them on those beats doing police work. if that's not happening, that has to be addressed. >> as far as overall, it's a matter of us -- >> look, i'm the type of person that if i had their beat, i would know who every one of these guys were and hunting them every single day. i want to make sure that these guys feel the heat. those numbers are just through the roof. you have to fix that right there, right now. [ female announcer ] hands were made for playing.

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♪ as the mayor commutes downtown, the city is buzzing. but for folks who send their kids to 54 schools on the chopping block, doomsday is coming. and it's just a week away.

mayor emanuel remains committed to his plan. the mayor meets with barbara bennett, ceo of the chicago public schools, to review the list and move forward with the largest school consolidation in the country. >> rahm emanuel only cares about his kids, he only care about what he needs. he do not care about nobody else but himself. >> people say deshawn has what it takes to be mayor of chicago some day. his school, marcus garvey, is on the closure list, but the 9-year-old believes there's sa chance to keep it open if he makes enough noise. >> the majority of the schools are in black neighborhoods. >> asean hits the pavement with his mom, a public school clerk and a member of the mighty chicago teacher's union.

>> gotcha. okay. >> joey mcdermott is a teacher union field rep, organizing against the mayor's plan to close schools. joey is making a big push to mobilize teachers. >> they've got to know that the teachers are very strong and want to save their school. >> and parents, like single mother shareece mcdaniel. >> we have a great school here. our kids have art, drama, dance. i mean, those are all the things that rahm emanuel's kids have at his schools. why can't we have that? >> this is about balancing the budget on the backs of poor people. we know they're going to turn around and put the money in charter schools and open up more charter schools so that billionaires that are living loud can name schools after themselves. because of what he's doing to our schools, the people of chicago are going to stand up and say to rahm emanuel, see you later!

>> the teacher's union teamed up with parents and headed to court to fight the school consolidation plan. >> parents have filed two class action lawsuits today. >> one lawsuit seeks to protect special needs students. >> i don't think that people really understand how much harm is going to be done to these children. >> her daughter is a child with special needs. two years ago, arianna and her cousin were shot while jumping rope. arianna survived a gunshot wound to the head but still suffers physical and psychological trauma. her cousin didn't make it. >> you got kids that come up and tell us that's why your cousin dead, just cruel. the school that they're trying to sell to us, that's where they from. i can't send her up there. >> if her school is closed, she could come face to face with the

family who shot her and murdered her cousin. >> got to walk past all this, and then go home and study? how many hours am i going to have to study and worry about my house getting shot up? where am i going to study at, on the floor with a flashlight? and i'm 8, 9 years old. it's sad. three people got shot last night right up the hill. it's just crazy. the first hot day come, here comes the shooting. >> each as shooting continues on the street just blocks away at fenger high, principal dozier moves forwar with the peace march. >> the objective is for students to understand the importance for the peace walk. >> how is it going to go? the kids are all leading this, so they have to have a clear understanding of what they're supposed to do and where they're going to go. i know parents have expressed safety concerns. community members have expressed it also about kids coming down

this way. there's neighborhood boundaries, whether or not people think they're real or not, they are real. so there's just tensions that flare from different neighborhoods. >> neighborhood tension erupted unexpectedly for arianna's mother alice and her boyfriend, wild bill. they were approached by a gunman in front of their house. wild bill was shot dead right in front of alice. >> they were talking about the kid's school. guys was walking across the street. i said look up. and he pulled the gun out and started shooting. i just fell to the ground and balled up and when i got up, i seen him laying there gasping.

trying to breathe. and i don't know how to deal with it right now. i feel like i'm losing it. >> the superintendent gets regular briefings on murder investigations city wide. >> there was a murder when an offender emerged on foot south of the building and opened fire. >> victor's family is cooperative and the witnesses have been cooperative, but they all agree the shooter had his face covered. >> black souls, new breeds. >> eddie, let's get a plan, all right? >> how is it going, commander? what is going on? >> someone was killed, somebody, wild bill, he was high ranking in one of the gangs. so this has now tripped off all the stuff, and like the school, we sit like in the middle of

this. somebody got killed, somebody named wild bill or something like that. did you hear about this? we should probably talk about the peace walk, i can't just put them in harm's way. ek! let me just say something. we all got a choice to make. and we can keep focusing on the bad... dwell on the bad, talk about the bad... or, or...we can focus in on the good. i want to give it up for good. give it up for what is good. what can be good. what will be good in our communities. now who's with me? i reckoreckon so.s a brewin'. reckon you gotta hotel? reckon, no. reckon priceline express deals will get you a great deal. wherever you...mosey. you reckon? we reckon.

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arianna's stepfather sparks fears of an all-out gang war. tensions are high and principal dozier has a tough decision to make about the peace march. >> first of all, just say thanks again for being willing to come out to our peace walk. we're going to have to cancel it unfortunately. there was some shooting that happened earlier in the week on the corner, just some brewing conflict in the neighborhood and i don't feel safe taking the kids outside. >> i need everybody to sit in the first two rows, please. right here, first two rows. the peace walk has been postponed. i want you to understand it's not canceled, it's postponed. i don't want you to walk up out of here and think what you did all week is in vain, it's not. we want to make sure everything is safe and we can be productive with this, okay? >> the mayor visits a water filtration plant where he's eager to announce one of the largest infrastructure

investments in chicago history. >> charles, do you need a pen, man? there's a whole new meaning to helping a reporter out. working to build a new channel 7. >> with the school closing debate reaching climax, local reporters want answers. >> should the board members not to close some of those 54 schools -- >> it's going to be very challenging. so is knowing that kids are going on without reading and not knowing math and dropping out. >> what do you say to parents and the teacher's union that say no one was listening to them. >> 56% of african-american males are dropping out. i will not accept that when i think i can give children a better future and that's the responsibility of not just a mayor but being an adult. >> it's d-day and the board meets to vote. but not before people gather outside to voice their objections, loudly. >> we are the people!

we are united! >> i personally feel you're on the wrong side of history. and history will judge you. >> parents and students of lanier still hope their school will be spared. >> we're here now, waiting for the governor's call for a stay of execution. >> mr. president, these items do require a vote. >> these schools will be -- >> shortly before the vote, barbara byrd bennett makes an announcement. >> i recommend that the board vote no on the recommendation to close lanier. >> are you all right? >> you just spared us for what you believe in. anything is possible. >> they also spared three others, including asean's school, marcus garvey elementary.

>> this has been sweet, but there are still so many other schools that won't have the joy that we have right now. >> then the chicago board of education makes history. they vote to close 50 schools, a decision that will affect 27,000 kids. >> you think about the children that are going to be killed because of the stupid-ass decisions you've made! >> no justice, no peace! no justice, no peace! >> this is an unmitigated disaster. >> i was walking out of the house and my wife says i've never seen you calmer. and i said, i am comfortable with what i am doing to put our children first. >> mayor emanuel's decision to close schools is final. and now chicago's new boss has a

whole city wondering one thing -- what's next? >> i happen to think the city of chicago is the most american of american cities. >> there is something about this place that's magical. >> right here in chicago. >> you're expected to give back. >> welcome to the age of possibilities. >> every single student counts for $5,000. >> we don't get more kids in this building we're in a lose position. >> everybody in this room is lucky to be alive right now. >> just too many guns in our community. unfortunately, we're going to have tragedies. >> we've got some people shot. >> retaliation can go back and forth. murder, murder, murder. >> we've seen some bad stuff here. >> it's like living in a battle zone. >> man down.

>> over a thousand people have been shot. >> get on the scale. >> only thing you can't kill is an idea. >> we're all accountable to the children of the city of chicago. >> they lit our house on fire. >> we're not doing this. let's go. >> i can't wait for this to be over. >> it's 24-7. it absolutely never ends. >> you need to tell the mayor to just quit his job. >> how do we change our friend rather than our foe? good evening, everyone. there is breaking news tonight. president obama speaking this evening with russian president slat mere putin. we are getting late details about what was discussed. we'll get to all of that in the hour ahead as well as latest diplomatic as well as military