Mayor Rahm Emanuel offers 'a leg up' in job interviews to CPS inner city graduates

CHICAGO, IL - Chicago Public Schools graduates could have an advantage landing interviews for jobs with the city, whether it be tree trimming or fighting fires.

Under a new iniatiative announced Saturday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office, the Department of Human Resources will make sure CPS graduates are among at least 20 percent of job applicants they refer to city department managers.

But, the department managers must first specify that they want the CPS graduate preference applied to their pool of applicants, said city spokeswoman Caroline Weisser.

And, the program does not guarantee the grads will get the job, Weisser said.

“But it provides them a leg or two up in that process,” she said.

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