CHA board approves leasing public housing land to CPS for new Near South Side high school

A vacant lot at 24th and State streets in the South Loop — part of the former Harold L. Ickes Homes — is the proposed site for a new CPS high school. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times)

Chicago housing officials have approved the lease of public housing land to Chicago Public Schools, taking the next step toward the city’s vision of a new, $120 million Near South Side high school.

Facing protests by neighbors and housing advocates, the Chicago Housing Authority’s board of commissioners on Tuesday unanimously voted to pursue a controversial deal with CPS at 24th and State streets, the site of the former Harold L. Ickes Homes, which the CHA began shutting down in 2007 amid promises of new public housing.