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 
Daily Herald Pension Series
Springfield’s costly and broken pension promise Daily Herald Editorial – But here’s a central point that no one should miss: Teachers are not at fault for the crushing shortfall in the state’s pension program. Teachers, after all, did not promise the pensions. They merely worked in good faith and along the way, contributed a sizable part of their incomes to the retirement fund.
Pensions for 131 school retirees top $150000 each annually Chicago Daily Herald – “Unfortunately, we heard all the horror stories of superintendents who bled districts dry with their antics,” said Melba Hanssen, retired principal of Patton Elementary School in Arlington Heights. “For every superintendent there’s a couple of hundred teachers who aren’t getting that.”
Pension crisis took decades to create, one day to ‘fix’ Chicago Daily Herald – Pat Quinn signed the measure April 14. But the changes, which reduce benefits for new employees hired after Jan. 1, do little to address how the state will …
Financial problems not unique to the teacher pension fund The Teachers’ Retirement System accounts for nearly half that debt, mostly because it is the largest pension system, covering public school teachers and administrators outside of Chicago. But even carrying $44.5 billion in unfunded liabilities, the teachers’ pension system is better off financially than some others
The hidden cost of inflated pensions: Schools forced to pay up Local schools now scrambling for money collectively paid more than $1.8 million to the
School boards part of pension problem On Sunday, we detailed how the state legislature failed to fulfill its obligation to fund pensions for teachers and school administrators. That represents a big chunk of a $78 billion pension shortfall that Illinois taxpayers ultimately will need to fund.
Teachers unions, educators follow rally with more pleas SPRINGFIELD – A day after thousands of Illinois teachers marched in a massive rally in Springfield calling for a tax increase to spare school cuts, education and union leaders trotted back to the Capitol on Thursday to make sure lawmakers got the message.
Illinois education groups underscore tax hike request
Ottawa Daily Times – “Children are going to be hurting,” Clark said. “There’s still time to fix this problem, and we need the officials with the power to vote to do it.” Ken Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association, said the proposed cuts will short-change students in the future. “Children only get one chance at a full education through their developmental years,”
Confront Schoenberg on school funding: Evanston teachers trek to Springfield
Evanston – ”He is in a position of leadership. He needs to talk to people and use his influence.” Push for tax increase The agenda was to urge support for a tax increase package backed by the Illinois Education Association union and other members of the Responsible Budget Coalition, which organized the rally. “What are you going to do right now, this second, to save our schools?”
Unit 10 superintendent takes wage freeze
Effingham Daily News – Unit 10 has made a number of cuts for the upcoming fiscal year, including some staff reductions. The cuts have sparked an outcry in the community, including some who feel the Altamont Education Association teachers union should follow Fritchtnitch’s lead and accept a pay freeze for 2010-11. Fritchtnitch said he wasn’t optimistic the teachers would
Carterville board OKs teachers’ contract
Marion Daily Republican – The state’s financial woes trickled down to Unit 5 teachers’ salaries with the school board’s approval of a minimal raise for members of the Carterville Education Association in a two-year contract. “The state tends to balance the budget on the backs of people who make it what it is,” CEA president Bruce Childers said.
Belvidere School District 100 Plans for Future School Years
Rockford WIFR (CBS) 23 – Belvidere school leaders are considering more long-term options to trim money out of future budgets as leaders wait to see if Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed cuts to education go though. “Regardless of what the state does, we’re also going to be spending time next year in our budget process
Tax projections hurt Hillsboro schools HILLSBORO — About three years ago, the Hillsboro School District projected the Deer Run Mine would generate about $1.5 million annually in property tax revenue. Bonds were sold based on that projection to pay for school improvements, including new technology and textbooks, instructional materials and additional personnel.
Schools making plans for sales tax money that will arrive starting in May
Champaign News – the auditorium at Urbana High School, and improve its athletic fields. It may seem odd that school districts are building new schools when they are also slashing their budgets and laying off teachers. But the sales tax money can be used only for construction, renovation, maintenance and repairs of school buildings, for energy-efficiency work, or for paying off building bond debt.
Vandals strike at Monmouth schools
Galesburg Register Mail – Vandals broke into Monmouth-Roseville High school and Immaculate Conception school sometime Friday night or early Saturday morning. Damage at both schools was extensive. Computer equipment was destroyed at each school
School board might reconsider allowing bands to play at political events
The State Journal-Register – The Illinois Education Association, an umbrella organization of teachers unions — including the Springfield Education Association — called the district …
East St. Louis schools spend $3.1 million on consultants
Belleville News-Democrat – Consultants are hired to work with students in math, science, reading and language arts. In addition, consultants work with teachers to help them address the needs of struggling students. Plus, “we have a whole technology initiative,” Saunders said. Mark took issue with how the district is using the money.
CPS, Teachers Union Try to Stop the Bleeding
Chicago Chicagoist – ”send a strong message to Springfield.” According to CBS2, numerous people stepped to the podium to detail the “painful impact” that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to cut $1.3 billion from education funding would have on schools and students. One estimate was that the budget cut would mean 20,000 teachers and school staff members being laid off.
Political News
Adjourn May 7? Don’t hold your breath
Chicago Daily Southtown – The Illinois General Assembly usually tries to adjourn by the end of May. That hasn’t worked out too well the past few years as partisan bickering, the state’s huge budget problems and the bloody war between former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan forced months-long overtime sessions. The last time the Legislature truly got out early was in 1999, when then-Senate President
Too much borrowing in Quinn budget plan: watchdog
Chicago Sun Times – Gov. Quinn’s budget plan depends too heavily on borrowing, ignores billions of dollars in unpaid bills and will worsen the state’s precarious fiscal condition next year, a top government watchdog warned. In an analysis released today of Quinn’s latest budget proposal, the Chicago-based Civic Federation expressed its opposition to the governor’s spending plan
As budget talk continues, Quinn backs off iTunes tax
Bloomington Pantagraph – Just two days after presenting the idea to top lawmakers, Gov. Pat Quinn Thursday abandoned a plan to tax music and video downloads on the Internet. Called an “iTunes tax” by some observers, Quinn Tuesday floated the idea of applying the sales tax to downloads as a way to make as much as $10 million for the state’s struggling budget
Quinn budget doesn’t add up, Senate Republicans say
Crystal Lake Northwest Herald – There are a lot of moving numbers in Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget. So many that Republicans in the state Senate said they were having a hard time figuring out the total price tag. The Senate Republicans on Thursday released an analysis of Quinn’s proposals that lawmakers said showed $200 million in cuts, not the $2.6 billion the governor’s office
The Bill Brady Guide to Raising More Questions Than You Answer NBC Chicago (blog) – But not from Pat Quinn, who’s trying to close a $13 billion budget deficit. “The original Tea Party’s rallying cry was ‘no taxation without representation …
Brady gives reporters 3 hours to view taxes
Chicago WLS (ABC) 7 – Bill Brady, the Republican nominee for Illinois governor, allowed reporters to see his income taxes Friday. Brady initially refused to release the information, but after Governor Quinn released his taxes information, Brady decided to make his public, but with certain restrictions. The Brady couple’s 2008 and 2009 returns showed they paid no federal income taxes
Brady offers peek at his tax returns
Chicago Sun Times – it all means a lot of struggle,” Brady said. Brady initially said he would not make his tax returns public because it would hurt his business interests. However, he had a change of heart after Gov. Quinn insinuated the lack of disclosure indicated Brady had something to hide. But Brady only offered reporters a limited view of his tax returns. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday
If Brady can’t win in Will County, he’s toast Southtown Star – Kristen McQueary – ?Pat Quinn’s prisoner release program but didn’t have his facts straight. A circle of Chicago-based reporters grilled Brady at an Illinois Republican Party …
Scott Lee Cohen Joining Race for Illinois Governor MyStateline.com – There are currently three other candidates in the race: Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn, Republican Bill Brady and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney.
Blago calls out Obama
Chicago Sun Times – Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers asked a federal judge Thursday to force President Obama to testify at Blagojevich’s upcoming trial, as new information surfaced — accidentally — that Obama personally called a mutual supporter to discuss his replacement in the U.S. Senate. On the day before he was elected president, then-Sen. Obama called a union official about the possibility that adviser
Blago’s blacked out court docs made public
Chicago WLS (ABC) – A computer glitch allowed some sealed information in court papers in Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial to become public Thursday. The court documents contained numerous blacked out portions. But several media outlets, including ABC7, discovered it was possible to unseal that information, which first appeared on an online blog that tracks TV and newsmakers.
Feds shuts down bank owned by Giannoulias
Bloomington Pantagraph – Regulators shut down the bank owned by Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ family on Friday, setting up an expected but daunting challenge in his bid to keep President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat in Democratic hands. Broadway Bank, which was heavy into real estate loans and lost $75 million last year, had been given until Monday to raise about $85 million in new capital,
Giannoulias campaign releases ad about failed bank
Decatur WAND (NBC) 17 – Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO’-lee-ehs) is trying to recover from the political blow dealt to his campaign by the collapse of his family’s bank. In a TV ad released Monday, Giannoulias says Broadway Bank was financially healthy when he left in 2006 and was elected Illinois state treasurer.
Troubled bank a potential stain in Senate race
DeKalb Daily Chronicle – The bank owned by Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ family could fail in just days, forcing him to overcome a notable business stumble as he tries to keep President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat in Democratic hands. His Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, is sure to brand him a failed banker at a time when Americans are still fuming over taxpayer bailouts
Plummer, Simon running for lieutenant governor’s office may be going away
Decatur Herald and Review – With Illinois’ tumultuous election season approaching, there’s one prediction that’s all but certain: The state’s next lieutenant governor is going to be a Southern Illinoisan with Metro East roots. Less certain, but very possible, is that the winner also will be the state’s last lieutenant governor, with legislation pending to eliminate the post.
Obama trip to Quincy aimed at national audience
Springfield State Journal – Why Quincy? Being in the heartland, having a reputation for innovation and a push for green energy could all help explain President Barack Obama’s choice of the west-central Illinois city for a visit this week. Obama has scheduled a “White House to Main Street” trip including stops in Missouri and Iowa, as well as Illinois this week
Mike Lawrence: Mental health groups need to see the money
Springfield State Journal Register – Service providers, reeling from state budget cuts and payment delays, fully deserve to ask the same from state government — especially now. In recent weeks, the Quinn administration and lawmakers have pledged to move thousands of persons with mental illness from nursing homes to community settings. That should allow them to receive the intensive counseling
Statehouse Insider: Maybe it’s time for more budget cut suggestions
Springfield State Journal Register – Guess we’re in for another round of budget cuts by suggestion box. Remember a few weeks ago, when the Quinn administration set up a website where people could send ideas for cutting state spending? It drew thousands and thousands of responses. Gov. PAT Quinn’s chief of staff, JERRY STERME
What else to tax?
Elgin Courier News – House bill was floated to increase the tax on cigarettes from 98 cents to $1.98 a pack. The bill died in committee; but given the state’s financial woes, the idea is being resurrected in Gov. Pat Quinn’s $500 million proposal for new taxes. The Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco released a poll last week showing 75 percent of Illinois voters supported a $1 tax increase on cigarettes.
Unions push to remove evaluations from open government law
Alton Telegraph – The FOIA law gained strength and teeth on Jan. 1, and has been under assault since then. State Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, is shepherding HB 5154 through the General Assembly. She said teachers unions and labor groups that represent state workers want to make sure only employees and supervisors can read the results of an employee evaluation. Tim Drea with the Illinois AFL-CIO said
Putting the ill in Illinois and other things A few things you won’t read anywhere else:
• The Democratic Illinois U.S. Senate candidate helped manage a failed family bank that loaned money to mobsters.
• The Republican running for Illinois governor didn’t pay any taxes for several years and wants to allow for mass euthanizing of dogs in gas chambers.
In the Spotlight: State needs tax hike to pay for essentials
Peoria Journal Star – I am a Republican and have never been a supporter of Gov. Pat Quinn, but I must now give him credit for looking at the good of the state rather than his political career by supporting an income tax increase. An increase in the state income tax is the only way to overcome our dilemma. Political candidates seem to think advocating a tax increase is political suicide. They put their political career over common sense and fiscal responsibility.
Our View: Show some guts, cut state spending
Geneva Kane County Chronicle – Can we really ask these struggling families to find $500 more to cut from their households budgets? We say, no. The institute proposes its own cuts, $3.5 billion beyond what Quinn has called for. Of course, such cuts would result in thousands of additional layoffs of people in public sector jobs. We don’t like that, but the state has to get its spending in line
Try vouchers for students in Chicago schools
Bloomington Pantagraph – attending the bottom 10 percent of schools — that would be about 22,000 students in 48 schools. Parents would receive a voucher for the price of tuition or the state “foundation level” for education funding — currently $6,119 — whichever is less. This is money that would otherwise go to the Chicago Public Schools system. The average tuition at private and parochial elementary schools
National News
80 Afghan schoolgirls sick in week; poison feared
Quad Cities WHBF (CBS) 4 – KABUL (AP) – More than 80 schoolgirls have fallen ill in three cases of mass sickness over the past week in northern Afghanistan, raising fears that militants who oppose education for girls are using poison to scare them away from school, authorities said Sunday. The latest case occurred Sunday when 13 girls became sick at school, Kunduz provincial spoke
Fixing Detroit: A Laboratory for Saving America’s Cities?
Detroit is in crisis. But it is hardly alone. Here’s how the federal government could help
Ripple Effects After an Offshore Oil Rig Explosion
Oil leakage appears to have been avoided after the April 20 oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, blunting potential environmental disaster. But it is worth asking, What if?
Should French Colleges Give Kids Wine Classes?
As binge drinking among French youth increases, a recent government report recommends teaching French kids about the art of wine appreciation — as part of the college curriculum
Death Becomes Him: HBO’s Kevorkian Biopic
You Don’t Know Jack addresses all these obvious issues, with an approach that, while obviously focusing on Kevorkian’s perspective, gives respectful airing to his opponents.
Republican Governors Pay Homage To Guy Fawkes
Now, the Fawkes mythology has come full circle. The Republican Governors Association has embraced the symbolism of Fawkes, launching a rather striking website, RememberNovember.com.
Why Shanghai is Back on Top of the World
Big and brash, what was once the Paris of the East is preparing for the expo and getting ready to welcome the world again
Should Larry King’s Marriage License be Revoked?
Why are people who are so bad at mating for life allowed to keep pairing up?
Is Rwanda’s Hero Becoming Its Oppressor?
An arrest and several quiet defections have many observers fearing that a crackdown against the opposition is in the works
The Promise And Pitfalls of Bioplastic
It’s a greener alternative, but think twice before you throw it away
Just How Dangerous Are Oil Rigs, Anyway?
By any measure, drilling for oil and gas offshore is one of America’s most dangerous professions.
Arizona Gears Up for a Protracted Immigration Fight
Ethnic polarization rises as opponents and supporters of new anti-immigrant legislation are preparing for legal and political battles
Why the GOP’s Graham Put the Kibosh on a Climate Bill
Even the industry-friendly Senate global-warming legislation decried as too weak by many environmentalists now looks unlikely to pass, because of political calculations on both sides of the aisle
Is Greece’s Tragedy In Its Final Act?
After months of market turmoil, Greece’s government succumbed to reality and asked for a $60 billion bailout from its Eurozone compatriots and the International Monetary Fund.
The Secrets of Obama’s Underappreciated Success
The critics on both the left and right will yammer on. But by Election Day, 2010, Obama will have soundly achieved many of his chief campaign promises while running a highly competent, scandal-free government.
What the Confidential Goldman E-mails Tell Us
SEC gathered range of experts for Goldman case
Late into the night, they darted from office to office, carrying thick reams of documents, building the most prominent legal case to grow out of the financial crisis.
(By Zachary A. Goldfarb, The Washington Post)
Democrats target 2008’s new voters
President Obama will declare his stake in the November midterm elections for the first time on Monday as his Democratic Party announces an ambitious strategy to appeal to independent voters in its quest to maintain control of Congress.
(By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post)
For miners, solace and talk of return
BECKLEY, W.VA. — They sat in the second and third rows Sunday, as President Obama called coal miners the embodiment of the American work ethic. A family that has become the face of West Virginia’s grieving by simple, heartbreaking math.
(By David A. Fahrenthold and Michael D. Shear, The Washington Post)
In N.H., voters’ anger moves a centrist to right
NEWPORT, N.H. — Bounced out of Congress in the 2006 Democratic sweep, former congressman Charlie Bass is trying to win back his narrowly divided district in November.
(By Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)
In Pakistan, CIA refines methods to reduce civilian deaths
The CIA is using new, smaller missiles and advanced surveillance techniques to minimize civilian casualties in its targeted killings of suspected insurgents in Pakistan’s tribal areas, according to current and former officials in the United States and Pakistan.
(By Joby Warrick and Peter Finn, The Washington Post)
In N.H., voters’ anger moves a centrist to right
NEWPORT, N.H. — Bounced out of Congress in the 2006 Democratic sweep, former congressman Charlie Bass is trying to win back his narrowly divided district in November.
(By Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)
Half a year from the midterms, let the spin begin
With six months remaining before the November midterm elections, partisans in both parties are finding evidence — some of it contradictory — that things are looking up.
(By Chris Cillizza, The Washington Post)
Wanted on the court: Sensitivity to ‘ordinary Americans’
The likelihood that health-care legislation and Wall Street reform will ultimately be decided in the Supreme Court underscores the importance of a new justice, with the White House and Democrats arguing that whoever replaces retiring Justice John Stevens will be key in moving the court to uphold …
(By Robert Barnes and Anne E. Kornblut, The Washington Post)
Democrats target 2008’s new voters
President Obama will declare his stake in the November midterm elections for the first time on Monday as his Democratic Party announces an ambitious strategy to appeal to independent voters in its quest to maintain control of Congress.
(By Philip Rucker, The Washington Post)
Democrats work to salvage climate proposal in Senate
The current predicament of the Senate climate and energy proposal, which was attractive enough to lure the leaders of not only the Christian Coalition but also ConocoPhillips, Exelon and Duke Energy to a now-canceled bill launch Monday, underscores the fragility of its support.
(By Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)
Word of the Day for Monday, April 26, 2010
quisling \KWIZ-ling\, noun:
Someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying his or her country; a traitor.