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
Pension argument pits ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ The difference in financial security between those with public pensions and those without has become glaringly visible during the ongoing recession, so much so that some in the “have not” camp are wondering why their tax dollars are going toward someone else’s pension while their own retirements are insecure.
Editorial: Now is time for resolve, reason Outrage against excesses in public pensions is warranted and understandable. But it also needs to be kept in perspective.
In Post-Obama Illinois, Hope and Change A school voucher bill wins strong bipartisan support. The vehicle is an educational voucher bill that needs only the approval of the full Illinois house to land on the governor’s desk. Introduced by the Rev. James Meeks—a powerful Democratic state senator who has also been one of Mr. Obama’s spiritual advisers—the bill provides a voucher of up to $4,000 for as many as 22,000 elementary students now languishing in the worst Chicago public schools. The voucher will give them the opportunity to attend the private school of their choice. The state Senate passed the measure last month, and last week the leadership-dominated House Executive Committee approved it by a vote of 10 to 1.
Schools districts may get state OK to issue bonds for buildings without voter approval
Chicago Tribune – the Hinsdale board didn’t transfer the money directly. Instead it parked the cash in the district’s main education fund before moving it to building funds. “Money-laundering,” one outraged school board member called it. According to court filings, 95 school districts in Cook, DuPage and Will counties sold nearly $800 million in working cash bonds between 2000 and 2008 for building
Charleston teachers, district reach pact
Journal&Gazette Times-Courier – A tentative agreement on a new contract for Charleston school district teachers was reached Sunday night.A joint announcement from the Charleston Education Association teachers union and the school board said the tentative contract was finalized after an 11.5-hour negotiating session. It said the contract will go to union members for ratification
Great that band played at rally Letter to the Editor – mid page – As the proud parent of a member of the Springfield High School Marching Band, it was disappointing to read the front page “Exclusive” in The State Journal-Register’s Saturday edition: “Should SHS band have played at pro-tax rally?” The headline and accompanying story were inaccurate, under-researched and inappropriately placed in the SJ-R’s news section. For the record, the Illinois Education Association invited the SHS band to perform at the “Save Our State” rally. IEA agreed in advance to reimburse the district for any expenses incurred
OUR VIEW: Tax increase won’t solve problems
Freeport Journal Standard – With all due respect to local teachers, we think Governor Quinn’s idea of raising taxes is a mistake, unless he and the leaders of our State Legislature get serious about spending cuts. Teachers traveled to Springfield
The legislators-are-chicken premise
Chicago Tribune – read “Thousands rally at Illinois Capitol — for a tax increase.” A subhead could have read, “Millions more stay at home, fuming at the very idea.” Last week’s Springfield rally of 15,000 “teachers, students, state workers, health care providers, and concerned citizens” organized by the Responsible Budget Coalition shouted “Raise my taxes” — which was a neat public relations trick
University lobbies for change
Chicago Flame – An estimated 300 students, faculty, alumni, and administrators from the University of Illinois traveled to Springfield last week to participate in lobby day and push for increased public higher education funding in next year’s budget — and for the university to pay the 58% of the total appropriation the state owes to the University of Illinois.
Tennis court work among projects added to Ball-Chatham school repairs
Springfield State Journal Register – with the teachers union on a new contract should wrap up before the school year ends, School Superintendent Bob Gillum said Monday. The current four-year contract with the Ball-Chatham Education Association expires this year. Bargaining has been under way since March, and another session is scheduled for May 5. “Our intent is to complete the process
Parents speak out for dismissed teacher during Cuba School Board meeting
Canton Daily Ledger – President Sue McCance called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Under the recognition of the public, a large group of parents and community members were present to speak on behalf of released teacher Amanda Rath. Several parents express their surprise of the release of Rath since they feel she is a wonderful teacher and has done much for their children.
Lincoln Magnet computer program threatened by loss of funding
Springfield State Journal Register – For the past few years, Springfield’s Lincoln Magnet School has carved out a niche as a top-performing, technology-centered middle school. But the state’s education-funding crisis
Most Champaign schools will receive more money for building budgets
Champaign News Gazette – schools in Champaign will get a little more money next year in their building budgets. Chief Financial Officer Gene Logas talked about preliminary building budgets for next year at Monday’s school board meeting. “In a time when other districts are cutting building budgets, we feel good we didn’t have to resort to that,” Logas said.
Unions push to exempt evaluations
Dixon Telegraph – HB5154 is not the first rollback of the new FOIA law. Lawmakers approved a similar carve-out for teachers and principals as part of a deal with teachers unions for the federal Race to the Top education funding program. Illinois never received any Race to the Top money, but lawmakers made the FOIA change anyway. Now, Sharon Voliva with the Illinois Federation of Teachers said the union
A cry for school funding fix in District U-46
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – a 17 percent decrease in state funding if Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget passes, U-46 in mid-march announced $30 million in cuts, including 1,100 employees. Along with the Stuecks, roughly 100 teachers, parents and students turned out to the South Elgin rally. Jaszczurowski, said she was inspired to organize it after writing letters to legislators about the school crisis and getting no response
U High students will receive ‘netbooks’ next year
Bloomington Pantagraph – Next fall, University High School will become the first Central illinois school to provide a portable computer for every student. The Illinois State University laboratory school of 610 will provide a “netbook,” a smaller version of a computer laptop.
Lonergan takes down Facebook page
Jacksonville Journal Courier – Routt baseball coach Bob Lonergan has taken down his Facebook page. “Basically I took it down because of the kids,” Lonergan said Monday night.
CPS budget calls for big boost in class size
Chicago Tribune – would raise some class sizes by as much as 25 percent, the result of a $600 million deficit for next school year. The specter of packed classrooms has fueled widespread anxiety among parents and teachers — but the worry may be premature. The CPS figures are based on a state budget few think will pass. That proposal from Gov. Pat Quinn would trim $1.3 billion from education
NIU Names New Dean Of Education College
Chicago WBBH (CBS) 2 – undergraduate and graduate students and a faculty of more than 120. Neal has a master’s degree and Ph.D. in special education from the University of Texas at Austin. After working a social studies teacher in Texas, she joined the faculty at Southwestern University in Texas.
Political News
Civic Federation rips Quinn’s proposed budget
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – A business-oriented government watchdog agency based in Chicago came out in opposition today to Gov. Quinn’s proposed 2011 state budget. The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability released an analysis rejecting the budget “because it is unbalanced, relies too heavily on borrowing, doesn’t address $6.2 billion in unpaid bills, and would exacerbate the state’s structural
Civic Federation: No support for Quinn budget
Quad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s “credit card” solution to the state’s budget is coming under fire from outside the Capitol. The Civic Federation, a Chicago-based business and tax policy organization,
State needs leadership, budget cuts
Bloomington Pantagraph – By State Rep. Jack D. Franks – These days, Illinois is in desperate need of a multitude of things: an influx of jobs, a fully funded pension system, a winning baseball team. Yet, what Illinois needs most during this alarming period of our history is precedent-shattering leadership.
Limiting spending is only solution
Champaign News Gazette Editorial – Illinois is trapped in a big hole, and one legislator has wisely advised his colleagues to stop digging deeper. State Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat from Marengo, has established himself clearly as an apostate among the Illinois political elite. The veteran lawmaker recently wrote an op-ed for a Chicago newspaper that makes so much sense he’ll be lucky if most of his fellow legislators – Democrats or Republicans – ever speak to him again.
No money, but Quinn signs bill to pay for guards
Decatur Herald and Review – Although it remains unclear where the money will come from, Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Monday aimed at making sure the state’s prison guards get paid in June. The stopgap spending measure was needed because the budget approved last summer was based on Quinn laying off hundreds of prison guards. But, the layoffs were blocked by the union representing the workers,
Edgar says he’ll vote for Brady
Arlington Heights Daily – Despite recent criticism of Bill Brady’s budget plans, former Gov. Jim Edgar says he will vote for the Republican nominee for governor come November. Edgar previously called Brady’s across-the-board budget cutting ideas “naive” and had recommended he rethink his fiscal policies regarding bridging a $13 billion budget deficit.
Cohen still considering run for governor CHICAGO – The Illinois Democrat who quit the lieutenant governor’s race after winning the primary said Tuesday that he is considering a run for governor as an independent. During an interview on WLS Radio in Chicago, Scott Lee Cohen said he will make his decision sometime this week to run against Democratic Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican state senator Bill Brady.
Senate eyes bill to weaken FOIA
Crystal Lake Northwest Herald – rather do that comprehensively and get input from all the parties at the table, as opposed to what we’re seeing now,” Althoff said. Supporters of the bill, such as unions representing teachers and public employees, say that evaluations will become worthless if they are public, and would contribute to hostile work environments because employees can FOIA one another’s evaluations
Our Opinion: Don’t weaken revised FOIA
Springfield State Journal Register – The Senate vote on the revised FOIA law, May 28, 2009. “The events of the last year underline the importance of openness in government in Illinois.” — Gov. Pat Quinn, Aug. 17, 2009, on the day he signed the new FOIA law. LAST YEAR in the wake of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest and indictment, Illinois lawmakers,
Giannoulias says no one has asked him to step down
Decatur WAND (NBC) 17 – Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO’-lee-ehs) says no one from the Democratic Party has suggested he step aside following the failure last week of his family’s bank. Giannoulias said Monday at a cafe in Urbana the failure of his family’s bank on Friday gives him a better understanding of the economic struggles
After Broadway, Giannoulias Tries to Focus on Main St.
Harrisburg WSIL (ABC) 3 – U.S. Senate Candidate and Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is trying to turn the attention away from Broadway by showing up on Main Street. Broadway Bank, which was started by Giannoulias? late father three decades ago, was heavy into real estate loans and lost $75 million last year. Federal regulators shut it down, along with seven other Illinois banks, on Friday.
Giannoulias to appear with Obama in Quincy
Decatur WAND (NBC) 17 – Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO’-lee-ehs) says he’ll appear in Quincy Wednesday with President Barack Obama. He’ll be among other statewide officials to appear with the president when his “White House to Main Street Tour” stops in the Mississippi River town. That’s especially good news for Giannoulias,
Palin heading to Illinois
Jacksonville Journal Courier – Sarah Palin has been out raising money for Republicans around the country and now she’s headed to Illinois. The Illinois Republican Party says the former vice presidential nominee will headline a party fundraiser May 12 in a Chicago suburb. Illinois Republicans don’t hold any statewide offices and the party is trying to win in some high-profile races this November.
National News
Happy Meal toys: Are they helping make kids fat as well as happy?
Belleville News-Democrat – The proposed ban is the latest in a growing string of efforts to change the types of foods aimed at youngsters and the way they are cooked and sold. Across the nation, cities, states and school boards have taken aim at excessive sugar, salt and certain types of fats. Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the proposal would forbid the inclusion of a toy
Wall Street Journal: Unions, States Clash in Race to Top
(Neil King Jr. & Stephanie Banchero, Op-Ed, National)
“The Obama administration’s signature education initiative has incited tense showdowns in states across the country as unions and state officials feud over strategies to compete for $3.4 billion in federal funding.”
New York Times: How to Lower the Burden of Student Loans
(Jennifer Schultz, Op-Ed, National)
“President Obama recently signed legislation that changes the federal student loan program. The new law eliminates fees to private bank intermediaries, expands Pell grants and makes it easier for students who borrow money, starting in July 2014, to pay it back.”
Financial overhaul blocked by GOP
Republicans voted unanimously Monday to block an effort to overhaul financial regulations from reaching the Senate floor, pledging to hold out for significant changes to the bill even as they acknowledged the political risk of appearing to obstruct a popular cause.
(By Brady Dennis and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)
A neighborhood watch, with guns
ARGHANDAB DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN — Taliban fighters used to swagger with impunity through this farming village, threatening to assassinate government collaborators. They seeded the main thoroughfare, a dirt road with moonlike craters, with land mines. They paid local men to attack U.S. and Afghan…
(By Rajiv Chandrasekaran, The Washington Post)
Suburbs trail D.C. in fighting AIDS, study says
Suburban governments lag behind the District in efforts to help slow the spread of AIDS even though they are home to nearly half of the Washington area residents infected with the disease, according to a study released Tuesday.
(By Darryl Fears, The Washington Post)
Both sides in immigration fight criticize Washington
PHOENIX — On the grounds of the Capitol, in a state that only days earlier had adopted the nation’s strictest anti-immigration law, the two sides of an angry debate are united on one thing: They blame Washington.
(By Peter Slevin, The Washington Post)
Goldman Steels Itself for a Senate Grilling
The first objective for the seven current and former Goldman employees testifying will be to say nothing that could be potentially incriminating, but senators won’t pass up an opportunity to savage the firm
Jones’ Jewish Joke: No Laughing Matter, for Obama or Israel
A clumsy attempt at stereotype humor undermines the National Security Adviser’s effort to reassure those fearful of the Administration’s Mideast agenda
As Patrols Increase, Somali Pirates Widen Their Reach
Despite global efforts to reign them in, Somalia’s pirates are staging bold new attacks further from home than ever before
CNN: Can a Mainstream News Outlet Survive?
In a polarized era, it’s tough to be nonpartisan. What’s a mainstream news organization to do?
Is Obama Overselling His Russia Arms Control Deal?
There are disturbing signs that the Obama Administration is overselling its progress on the new arms control treaty with Russia, raising unrealistic hopes that Moscow would genuinely help in addressing the danger from Iran
Word of the Day for Tuesday, April 27, 2010
quash \KWOSH\, transitive verb:
1. (Law) To abate, annul, overthrow, or make void; as, “to quash an indictment.”
2. To crush; to subdue; to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely; as, “to quash a rebellion.”