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 
Interest groups gear up for fight with legislators over funding As a result, interest groups across the state, led by unions representing state workers and teachers, have begun deploying an arsenal of persuasion tools on lawmakers who will begin the final stretch of the legislative session this week. They plan to cap the effort with a rally in Springfield April 21 – perhaps the biggest of its kind in city history.
State now behind $1 million in payments to Harrisburg schools
Harrisburg Daily – About $400,000 of that amount is in the Transportation Fund. That fund will need a cash infusion to meet April payments, Smith said. The school board in January authorized Tax Anticipation Warrants – borrowing against future taxes — in case any funds dipped too low. “But I delayed that because we got an infusion of cash
Check may almost be in the mail to Rochester schools ROCHESTER — The Rochester School District may finally be getting the $10.1 million in Illinois school construction grant money it’s been waiting eight years to receive.
SD227 board member still fighting for civil rights
Chicago Daily Southtown – In 1961, David Morgan fled the Jim Crow South in search of a better education in Chicago. Nearly a half-century later, the 68-year-old educator says his freedom of speech has again been denied, his civil rights violated. “We are fighting another civil rights battle here in the south suburbs,” Morgan said. This battle is being waged not by white authority, but black – the troubled school board that oversees three high schools in Rich Township School District 227.
Dist. 204 parents pushing for education funding reform
Chicago Daily Herald -Two months ago, Indian Prairie Unit District 204 officials fought the battle for state education funding with signs in their own front yard. Now, parents say, they’re taking the fight to Springfield. For three days in February, every sign at each of the district’s 33 schools told any
District 200 teachers pay frozen in first year of new pact
Chicago Daily Herald – A tentative two-year contract that freezes most teacher salaries for one year is likely to win approval Wednesday from the Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board. If ratified, the pact will take effect July 1.
District: Is 6 elementaries 1 too many for Urbana?
Champaign News Gazette – The Urbana school board will begin talking at a special meeting Tuesday about whether the district should close one of its six elementary schools.
RIF ripples: Much still unresolved after budget-related layoffs
Champaign News Gazette – Francinna Wright is in her 10th year of teaching young children at Urbana’s Washington Early Childhood school. She loves the close-knit atmosphere at her building, where many of the teachers have worked together for years. Her teaching style, the classroom setup and the units she teaches are all well-established. But because state funding for early-childhood programs
Feds funds keeping preschool programs above water
Champaign News Gazette – Though state funding for early childhood education programs is still up in the air, Danville school officials said they will be able to offer at least 140 preschool seats in the upcoming school year, thanks in part to the continuation
State cuts imperil preschool program Northwest Herald – Pat Quinn and the Illinois State Board of Education, grants for District 19’s preschool program would be cut by 25 percent to 30 percent. …
Kadner to receive lifetime achievement award
Southtown Star – His outrage is chronicled in literally hundreds of columns, which earned him the Illinois Education Association’s Hero in Education Award. …
Kaneland teachers, school board to meet
DeKalb Daily Chronicle – the Kaneland School District may be nearing a deal that could avert some of the job losses planned at schools in Elburn, Sugar Grove, Maple Park and Montgomery. Representatives of the Kaneland Education Association are scheduled to meet with the Kaneland District 302 Board of Education on Monday, April 12, before the regular school board meeting
Teachers Await Grade Level Survey
Mount Prospect Journal – have pushed back finalization of a survey to gauge teacher and staff views of grade level centers in River Trails Elementary School Dist. 26. Supt. Dr. Dane Delli said he, along with River Trails Education Association President Ann Forman and board member Alex Carrillo, are setting up a date most likely for sometime next week to get together and construct the survey.
Creve Coeur to use stimulus on laptops
Peoria Journal Star – opportunity to enrich and support the middle school experience.” The district is among 15 Illinois school districts that will get $10 million in federal grants to enhance literacy and math education with technology. The money will pay for items such as laptop computers, computer notebooks and other “one-to-one” technological devices.
Local School District Among 15 Getting Millions in Technology Grants
WGIL AM Radio 14 (Galesburg) – Fifteen Illinois school districts, including one in Warren County, will get $10 million in federal grants to enhance literacy and math education with technology. The federal stimulus money will pay for items such as laptop computers, computer notebooks and other “one-to-one” technological devices.
SD227 shares in $10 M in technology grants
Matteson Richton Park Star – Rich Township High School District 227 is among 15 illinois school districts that share $10 million in federal grants to enhance literacy and math education with technology. The federal stimulus money will pay for items such as laptop computers,
Florida’s bold move
Chicago Tribune Editorial – The legislature’s move has teachers unions up in arms. Andy Ford, the president of the Florida Education Association, told Education Week that his group would work to shake up the make-up of the legislature. “We’re looking toward the November elections, where we’d repeal and reform the legislation, if we can change some seats in the Senate and the House,” Ford said. Despite enormous pressure, legislators have sent a message that they’re committed to breathtaking reform. Their boldness is refreshing, a template we hope Illinois emulates.
Recession hits ‘private public’ schools, too
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – A study published last month by a nonprofit think-tank, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, reported that more than 1.7 million American children attend “private public schools” – filled with predominately white children, with less than 5 percent coming from low-income homes. In Illinois, 45 of the 60 schools deemed “private publics” are in the suburbs.
U Of I Tuition Hike May Not Be As Bad As Thought
Chicago WBBH (CBS) 2 – That would be about $10,337 a year in Champaign, plus room and board. At UIC, tuition would be about $9,092, and in Springfield $8,068. Quinn has suggested an income tax “surcharge” to restore education funding for schools and universities, but his proposed budget calls for cutting education funding by $1.3 billion. Ikenberry said Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget would not chop
School for blind, deaf children to stay open
Chicago Tribune – through local schools or special education co-ops. The Rock Center is one of many schools being stung by a recession that has diminished state revenue and property taxes, forcing numerous teacher layoffs. But although traditional school districts are able to fall back on property tax revenue, the Rock Center relies entirely on the state.
After $8.5 million in cuts over past three years, Quincy School Board members … Quincy Herald Whig – Quinn is going to follow through with what he said,” School Board Vice President Tom Dickerson said. “You’re talking about another $2 million or $3 million …
Grayslake District 46: Teachers union deal helps save programs
Chicago Daily Herald – and standard step increases account for the 2.75 percent average. With the concessions already approved by the Grayslake Federation of Teachers union members, the agreement will go before District 46 school board for official approval April 28. District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll said Friday the teachers’ willingness to accept reduced raises will benefit students next year.
Political News
General Assembly returns to full plate
Chicago Daily Southtown – From Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed income tax increase to managing the state’s roughly $13 billion deficit, Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield this week with a hefty plate of unsettled measures before them.
Illinois Still Behind On Its Bills Chicago Public Radio – Governor Pat Quinn has lobbied hard to raise the income tax rate but the legislature appears unlikely to go along with him at this time.
Bernard Schoenburg: Brady’s margin of victory grows a bit The State Journal-Register – ? Pat Quinn, 7 percent for some other candidate and 10 percent unsure. Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, NC, also revealed results from a poll of 591 Illinois …
Illinoisans must end tolerance of corruption Bloomington Pantagraph – ?Pat Quinn is banking on ethics being a key issue in November’s gubernatorial election. Simon, a law professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, …
The Illinois spiral Chicago Tribune Editorial – History often occurs with such bombast that we couldn’t miss it if we tried: a climactic battle, a pivotal court decree, the inauguration of an African-American president. Other times, history evolves quietly via the Law of Accumulation: Little things add up.
Judge may unveil Blagojevich document A federal judge says he may make public large portions of a sealed document outlining the government’s corruption case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Judge with Chicago ties is on Supreme Court short list
Chicago Tribune – Blackmun for articulating in Roe and other cases “the important insight that a core set of individual rights exist that neither the states nor the federal government may trample.” At a 2005 law school lecture in New York, Wood also took direct aim at the notion that jurists need follow a strict and literal path in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution, a dearly held principle
Lucky fix for schools without raising taxes
Chicago Daily Herald – Gov. Quinn brought the people of Illinois to the proverbial fork in the road and has presented us with two options: Either raise our income tax 1 percent or cut education. I have a better solution. The adult population of Illinois is around 9.5 million people. If my calculations are correct, 1.3 billion divided by 9.5 million equals about 136 one-dollar lottery tickets per adult.
National News
Can Obama Make Progress on Global Nuclear Security?
A Washington summit on securing nuclear materials will be largely about symbolic declarations and non-binding promises. But hawks and doves agree that it’s better than nothing
Why Republicans Aren’t Spoiling for a Supreme Court Fight
If Republicans believe there is political hay to be made over the fight to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court, they didn’t show it in speeches at this past weekend’s Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans
Study: Spanking Kids Leads to More Aggressive Behavior
Many parents have found that a swift whack is sometimes the only way to get a child to behave, but a new study says it is bad in the long run
Is the Stock Market Headed Back Down?
An interview with David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff in Toronto
Massacre Prompts Debate Over India’s Maoists War
A horrific massacre of paramilitary forces by Maoist guerrillas is part of a conflict that is increasingly about prosperous India versus poor India
After Stevens: The Long and Short of Obama’s SCOTUS Nominee Lists
Here is the unofficial list of other names from one outside group that is keeping a close eye on the President’s team as they work to reach a decision.
Can Hatoyama Be Japan’s Change Agent — At Home and Abroad?
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama wants a more equal relationship with Washington, but nobody’s quite sure what that means
Questioning a Proposed Anti-Bullying Law
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is renewing her calls for the state to enact strong anti-bullying legislation.
What Would Henry Luce Make of the Digital Age?
The author of a new biography of Henry Luce wonders how the Time Inc. founder would meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century
Word of the Day for Monday, April 12, 2010
neologism \nee-OLL-uh-jiz-um\, noun:
1. A new word or expression.
2. A new use of a word or expression.
3. The use or creation of new words or expressions.
4. (Psychiatry) An invented, meaningless word used by a person with a psychiatric disorder.
5. (Theology) A new view or interpretation of a scripture.