Over the last 10 years, the Chicago Public School system has never issued a districtwide closing due to winter weather.

Which means alongside death and taxes, Chicago residents can always count on Chicago Public Schools functioning.

“A lot of districts don’t have to worry about that many students,” said Malon Edwards, spokesman for the Chicago Public Schools, noting the district has more than 400,000 students to think about.

The last time a districtwide closing occured  was in January 1999, when 22 inches of snow was dumped onto the city over three days.

In comparison, the Wilmette Public School District has had snow-related closing five times in that same span.

Both districts’ procedures for closing are similar.

When a snow storm approaches, the CPS’s chief executive officer’s office and the superintendent of Wilmette Public Schools, Dr. Raymond Lechner, keep track of the weather reports.

Both also stay in touch with transportation departments to stay informed on the condition of the busses and keep an eye on the progress of snow plows and salt trucks in the area.

From there the procedure differs slightly.

Lechner drives out to personally experience the roads on the way to school.

“I literally drive to the schools to get a feel for the conditions and identify any trouble spots,” Lechner wrote in an open letter to parents. “If I see any difficult driving area, I call my friends at Public Works so they can address the concern.”

Then Lechner meets with all superintendents in New Trier Township via phone conference to share their collective information. The final decision time, he said, is 5:30 a.m. and the superintendents agree to make the same decision.

CPS chief Arne Duncan, President-Elect Barack Obama's nominee to head the U.S. Education Department, has final say on whether the schools stay open in Chicago.

Since the city has more than 600 schools, Duncan doesn’t have the luxury of driving through all the routes to school himself. The sheer size of the city also makes the decision to close schools slightly different compared to some of the surrounding suburbs. 

“In times of extreme weather, we want to make sure that parents and students are safe,” Chicago Public Schools spokesman Malon Edwards said. “That’s always a consideration.”