Below are links to news stories of interest from newspapers that came up during a search today. These links were active at the time of this e-mail, but should you want to save a story, printing it or cutting and pasting the entire article and saving it to your computer is recommended.
State News 
Plainfield school district may cut 222 jobs
Chicago Tribune – “What we are looking at financially is something this board has never seen,” school board member Eric Gallt said describing the magnitude of the proposed cuts. About 250 parents showed up at Monday’s meeting to hear about the cuts. Many parents objected to the proposed cuts,
Union faction pushes to resume bargaining There is dissension in the ranks of the Maine Township High School District 207 teachers union, Pioneer Press has learned. A tenured teacher at Maine East, whom Pioneer Press agreed not to identify, said a movement was afoot to force the union back to the bargaining table.
State funding may force Dist. 204 into more cuts
Chicago Daily Herald – Each of those moves, and several others, she said are being done with the intent of keeping the district out of the headlines for teacher layoffs. “I think often you will read Glenbard cuts or Maine Township cuts 140 teachers or whatever and there’s a number attached. The way we’re attacking it is by looking at class size
U-46 board gets earful over high school courseload caps
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – Parents, students and teachers spent more than an hour this week expressing their resounding disapproval over Elgin Area School District U-46’s decision to firmly cap courseloads at six classes, imploring administrators to consider taking a pay cut in the name of academics.
Schools weather state’s financial storm
Elmwood Park Elm Leaves – “Problems arise when the bills go out late, but fortunately, we have sufficient fund balances. “The state is in a really tough place,” he added. “Next year the (Illinois State Board of education) will have a big hole to fill in its budget.” As it is, District 84.5 is waiting up to five months for state money to arrive. “So we’re watching what we’re spending,”
LETTER: New school ‘absolute necessity’
Streator Times-Press – To the Editor: The Ottawa Township High School Education Association would like to encourage members of the Ottawa community to vote “yes” on the referendum concerning the building of a new school. The options for the new school have been
SIU receives $30 million for payroll
Edwardsville Alestle – Gross said the university was confident they can meet the $13 million remaining on March’s payroll, partially due to money set aside for higher education from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “That’s an amount we’re hopeful can be sent to us between now and March,” Gross said.
U. of I. faces 2nd Tribune lawsuit
Chicago Tribune – The Chicago Tribune is suing the University of Illinois for information that it believes could explain why applicants were placed on admissions clout lists, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court.
Political News
Delay in new state campaign donation limits benefits governor …
The State Journal-Register – Dillard has reported 15 donations, totaling $598,000, that would exceed the limit of the future. Included is a $250,000 donation from the Illinois Education Association.
Hynes tells Springfield supporters: Polls don’t win elections Comptroller Dan Hynes said Wednesday he is encouraged by recent poll results in his campaign to become the Democratic candidate for governor, but said polls don’t win elections.
Quinn defends taking interest payments from campaign fund Gov. Pat Quinn said today he would soon close a campaign account from his losing 1996 U.S. Senate race that has paid him $24,000 in interest. Though he got back more cash from the campaign than he put in, Quinn said he “did not make a profit,” adding: “I did not see paying off a campaign debt as a mechanism for an investment. It’s ridiculous on its face.”
How did Dan Hynes get footage of Harold Washington criticizing Quinn?
Chicago Sun Times – It’s the campaign commercial that could tip the scales in the Democratic gubernatorial primary — and ultimately determine who the next governor of Illinois will be.
Burris blasts Hynes’ ad campaign
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – “These families asked us if they could stand up for the governor, who has done so much for Illinois’ military families for so many years,” she said. Also on Wednesday, Gov. Quinn announced funding for Loop road improvements and then traveled to DeKalb for a news conference announcing $8 million in funding for building renovations, including work on Cole Hall
Bernard Schoenburg: How loud will big money talk in down-ballot races?
Springfield State Journal Register – So, did Gov. PAT QUINN’s new transportation chief arrange for a campaign contribution for his boss? No, says Transportation Secretary GARY HANNIG. Hannig, a former state representative, still has a campaign fund. That fund gave $15,000 to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee on Dec. 18.
Ad nauseam: Voters bombarded with TV, Internet messages The campaign nausea is setting in about now, if it hasn’t hit full strength already. Sorting through the clutter of the deluge of campaign advertisements and videos is one of the biggest chores, as candidates talk crossways about who’s the best choice and why. Here’s what you need to know about which candidates for statewide office are using TV ads and Internet videos to spread their message.
Thursday Illinois political docket: Quinn on Hynes’ Obama mailer, Daley on fireworks A look at what’s going on in Illinois politics on Thursday: Gov. Pat Quinn continues his theme this week of announcing projects as he seeks to cast a more gubernatorial image in the days before Tuesday’s primary. On Wednesday, he talked about Wacker Drive road work. This afternoon, the governor has a ribbon-cutting-type event at a South Side children’s home
Race for lieutenant gov takes wacky, pricey turn takes
Chicago Sun Times – “If we hadn’t had the impeachment [of Rod Blagojevich], it would be a lower profile sort of thing.” The ousting of Blagojevich and ascension of Gov. Quinn from the lieutenant governor’s office left the job up for grabs and gave a blueprint for those with higher political aspirations.
Feds: Grand jury close to voting on reindictment of Blago Federal prosecutors told a judge today a revised indictment against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected by the end of next week. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge James Zagel in December that the changes would limit the case’s reliance on “honest services” fraud law. If the U.S. Supreme Court finds that statute unconstitutional in the next few months, Blagojevich’s trial could have been delayed from beginning next summer.
Does Blagojevich deserve to have portrait in Capitol? Saint or sinner or something in between, almost every man who served as governor of Illinois has a portrait in the Capitol’s Hall of Governors. The only exception? Rod Blagojevich, also the only governor in the state’s history to leave office through impeachment.
Full coverage of the State of the Union Citing a “deficit of trust” in government by Americans, President Obama’s first State of the Union address urged Congress to work together to confront the nation’s most pressing problems.
State of the Union in pictures See the scene at the U.S. Capitol, from the Supreme Court justices and Michelle Obama to Haiti’s ambassador and other guests.
State of the Union Not Immune From Racial Innuendo ABC News – As pundits and politicians alike reflect and analyze President Obama’s first State of the Union speech, one topic not included in the address has surfaced — his race. MSNBC host Chris Matthews’ off-the-cuff comment that he “forgot he …
Chris Matthews on Obama State of the Union address: ‘I forgot he was black’ New York Daily News – “Chris Matthews forgot he was black” was high on Google’s list of hot Web searches Thursday morning. Loose-lipped MSNBC talking head Chris Matthews has unleashed a flood of Internet chatter with the odd remark he “forgot he [Obama] was …
GOP State of the Union Response Text
Chicago WFLD (Fox) 32 – Now is the time to adopt innovative energy policies that create jobs and lower energy prices.All Americans agree, that a young person needs a world-class education to compete in the global economy. As a kid my dad told me, Son, to get a good job, you need a good education. That’s even more true today.
But It Is True, Justice Alito Huffington Post (blog) – ?As you’ve no doubt heard by now, in an extraordinary escalation of tension between President Barack Obama and the sitting justices of the Supreme Court …
Obama Skewers Court–and Signals Change Ahead CBS News (blog) – The legal world is on fire from last night’s dustup between President Obama and Justice Alito. Mr. Obama took it straight to the justices in the State of …
Alito’s ‘Not True’ Was Out of Line; Court Deserves Obama Smack U.S. News & World Report (blog) – In June, 1891 Supreme Court Justice David Brewer was called to New Haven to address the graduates of …
National News
A study in sabotage: Teachers union torpedoed state’s shot at $700M New York Daily News – ? US Education Secretary Arne Duncan established grant criteria that included using student performance data to boost achievement and assess teacher …
Obama Pushes $10000 College Tax Credit and Student Debt Relief Bloomberg – … shielding federal school programs from his proposed freeze on some domestic spending, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said yesterday. …
Obama to Seek Up to $4B in New Education Spending New York Times – ? Obama will ask Congress to boost federal spending on education by as much as $4 billion in the coming 2011 budget year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said …
Why We’re Failing Our Schools The government has billions to spend on public education, but teachers’ unions are standing in the way
Confident Republicans Give Obama a Frosty Reception While the Democrats, at times, seemed to be considering the exits, the Republicans in the crowd at the State of the Union handled the event with a renewed sense of confidence.
Apple’s Vision of the Future Publishers see the iPad tablet as a savior. Will consumers feel the same way?
Human Predators Stalk Haiti’s Vulnerable Kids With thousands of orphaned kids wandering the streets, the earthquake has created a fertile climate for child-traffickers
Why We Can’t Celebrate the Edwards Split
Word of the Day for Thursday, January 28, 2010
machination \mack-uh-NAY-shuhn; mash-\, noun:
1. The act of plotting.
2. A crafty scheme; a cunning design or plot intended to accomplish some usually evil end.