Chicago trade school students blindsided as federal Job Corps cuts shut school down
Students at the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center, 3348 S. Kedzie Ave., said they were blindsided by the decision.
Job Corps is a free program for thousands of low-income students across the country who will be affected. Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would suspend operations at its 99 Job Corps centers due to budget constraints.
Thus, students at the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center were seen packing their bags and moving out of their student housing Wednesday afternoon. But it was not because of summer vacation.
"It's hard to get opportunities like this," said Charles Wright.
Wright and Areeya McNeil are on the school's student government association. They said they came to the Job Corps trade school to get a job with a free education.
"I was looking for a change in my life. I wanted to become something better," said McNeil. "I heard about Job Corps, and I signed up."
Now they, along with 25,000 students across the country, are losing their housing, education, and career training due to what the federal government calls a "phased pause" in the Job Corps program.
"This came out of the blue. We were actually on our first SGA field trip, and we got the news," said McNeil, "and it just hit us — like, we're closing? We're not even done yet."
It was last week when the U.S. Department of Labor announced the shutdown of the 99 Job Corps centers across the country — which includes locations in Chicago and Joliet.
The department said the decision aligns with President Trump's 2026 budget. The department added that in 2024, the program was in a $140 million deficit, and is expected to cost another $213 million this year.
The federal government added that the program has had thousands of serious incident reports — including sexual assaults, drug use, and violence.
The Department of Labor said while the pause goes into effect on June 30, there is no hard deadline for students to move out. They say each center to should support the students with that process.
"Since we're closing down, I might like go to a shelter and finish college there," said McNeil. "We'll see."
McNeil and Wright are two of the 2.2 million people whom Job Corps said it has helped since the program started. They do not want to leave the 33-acre Paul Simon Chicago campus off the Stevenson Expressway.
"We have no control over the situation and things like that, and it's really unfair," said Wright.
McNeil and Wright said they are using what they have learned so far to try to land a job. Meanwhile, Job Corps said it is suing the Department of Labor.
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