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 
Union, service leaders ask legislators to raise revenue Rockford Register Star – ROCKFORD — An eleventh-hour coordinated lobbying effort by the Responsible Budget Coalition was launched in Rockford and seven other Illinois …
Responsible Budget Coalition calls on lawmakers to get back to Springfield … Herald & Review – Nance, 52, was one of about a dozen people who spoke at a news conference called Tuesday morning by the Responsible Budget Coalition to urge state …
Group calls for `responsible budget’ in Illinois St. Louis Post-Dispatch -… a “responsible state budget,” according to the Responsible Budget Coalition, a group of teachers, activists, health advocates and civic leaders. …
Lawmaker and New Coalition Push for Responsible State Budget MyStateline.com – Stout is looking to protect her employees and her children, which is why she joined 200 other organizations in the responsible budget coalition. …
WREX.com –Coalition urges Illinois lawmakers to pass … WREX-TV – Members of the “Responsible Budget Coalition” want lawmakers to raise taxes to balance the budget. Public service agencies say Illinois budget cuts and …
Lawmakers Urged to Balance Budget WIFR – ?The responsible budget coalition sponsored an event at Rockford Urban Ministries where speakers explained how state budget cuts and payment delays have …
Group Wants Answers on Budget Problems cbs4qc.com – That’s what members of the Responsible Budget Coalition said at a meeting on Tuesday in Moline. They say if things stay how they are, non profits, …
Coalition urges Illinois lawmakers to get to work ConnectTriStates.com powered by KHQA – The Responsible Budget Coalition is made up of 200 organizations statewide that serve and represent millions of Illinois residents. …
Responsible Budget Coalition Calls For “Leadership, Not Politics” (VIDEO) Progress Illinois (blog) – ?Leaders from the Responsible Budget Coalition reminded lawmakers yesterday that citizens aren’t satisfied with the stop-gap budget proposals that are being …
Agencies Demand Illinois Lawmakers Fix Budget KWQC 6 – ?… and other Illinoisans who depend on state services from additional devastating cuts,” declared a spokesperson for the Responsible Budget Coalition. …
Coalition urges Illinois lawmakers to pass responsible budget Rockford WREX (NBC) 13 – “We need a responsible state budget, a budget that will take into account the needs of the people in the state of Illinois,” says Rockford Education Association President Molly Phalen. She was there Tuesday fighting for all school districts in the state, feeling the effects of deep budget cuts. The coalition supports a tax increase
Responsible Budget Coalition: Don’t Dig a Deeper Hole Marketwire (press release) – ?So say representatives of the Responsible Budget Coalition, who renewed their call for common-sense revenue reforms at news conferences in eight Illinois …
Teachers Want “Responsible” Budget Fix Public News Service – The “Responsible Budget Coalition” will be rallying again today in Chicago and downstate for a tax increase to fix the state’s budget …
Peaceful Revolution: A Budget That a Mother Could Love Huffington Post (blog) – … finding ways to generate more revenue like HB 174, a comprehensive tax reform package being championed by the broad-based Responsible Budget Coalition. …
Illinois agencies call for budget deal
Moline WQAD (ABC) 8 – MOLINE, Illinois – The clock is ticking for Illinois lawmakers to come up with a state budget. It’s a $13 billion financial crisis, but they left Springfield without a deal. Now, service providers are speaking out for a solution.
Map shows disparities in local property tax across Illinois
Medill News Service – This map of Illinois illustrates how the property tax rates that municipalities rely on to fund schools and local services often vary dramatically from town to town.
Open season on teachers So you want to be a teacher? The thought of leading a classroom full of kids is an appealing one to you?
Elgin teacher pact vote Tuesday
Elgin Courier News – Having reached a tentative agreement with School District U46 earlier this month, the Elgin Teachers Association plans to take the proposal to the full union membership for a vote on Tuesday. The proposed contract is for the 2010-11 school year. Details will not be released until after the vote by the 2,500-teacher union, according to Tim Davis, president of the Elgin Teachers Association.
ROWVA hires back more teachers
Galesburg Register Mail – The ROWVA District 208 Board of Education hired back four elementary teachers, a full-time P.E. teacher and a half-time music teacher at its meeting Monday. The industrial arts teacher was hired back half-time at ROWVA, but will also be working half-time at Galva.
More parent outreach ahead for Rockford teachers
Rockford Register – Teachers will be required to take more steps next year to notify parents when a student is in danger of failing a class in the Rockford School District
District’s insurance costs going up
Alton Telegraph – had a student tell me that they may miss school to help take care of younger siblings to help avoid the extreme costs of ’school-aged child enrichment,’” said Brenda Powers, president of the Alton Education Association. Powers said families with two children needing before- and after-school care through the YWCA would pay $160 per week.
Dozens of Illinois School Bus Drivers Lose Permits For Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Chicago WFLD (Fox) 32 – Chicago – It was a story that sent chills down the spines of parents: a Mount Prospect school bus driver arrested for driving drunk on the job. So we did some digging to find out just how often Illinois school bus drivers have lost their permits for abusing alcohol or drugs on the job. 54-year-old Betty Burden is the school bus driver Mt Prospect police arrested two months ago for DUI.
Rock Falls still says no to Race to the Top: High school declines support of state bid
Dixon Telegraph – The Rock Falls School Board has again decided against supporting the state’s bid for federal Race to the Top funds. Board members Monday agreed not to sign a memorandum of support, citing concerns about a lack of answers to questions that include how teacher evaluations would be tied to
United resubmits for ‘Race to the Top’
Quad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – “Illinois will likely get funded during the second round, although it remains to be seen whether we as an individual district will see any of this money,” he said. The Race to the Top Money is to be used for a variety of efforts to improve education. In other business, the board approved amended budget figures that saw expenditures rise approximately $500,000.
U of I expected to raise tuition by 9.5 percent University of Illinois trustees this week will consider an almost 10 percent increase in tuition and a contract that would pay the school’s new president more than $600,000 a year.
Poshard expects borrowing bill to be signed soon
Southern Illinoisan – Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard said the borrowing bill that has passed the House and Senate will be signed by Gov. Pat Quinn soon and ready for the university to utilize in case of emergency. Poshard expects the bill allowing universities to turn to commercial lending to make up for missing state support
5 Vying To Lead Chicago Teachers Union
Chicago WBBH (CBS) 2 – A packed field of five candidates will vie for the presidency of the Chicago teachers Union later this week amid extraordinarily tense times: a record Board of Education deficit, plans to raise class size to 35 and the prospect of salary concessions.
Political News
What lawmakers did, didn’t do this session
Chicago Daily Herald – Although lawmakers skipped town without sending a budget to Gov. Pat Quinn or addressing a $13 billion deficit, hundreds of pieces of legislation swept through – or were sunk by – the General Assembly over the last few months. Lawmakers heralded pension reform
Gov: Lawmakers will get budget by deadline
Chicago Daily Southtown – Illinois lawmakers are going to cut it close, but Gov. Pat Quinn said he’s confident that legislators will have a budget by the month’s deadline. The Illinois General Assembly adjourned May 7, even though lawmakers have not come to terms on a state
Quinn reaching out to lawmakers for support on budget
Decatur Herald and Review – SPRINGFIELD – As lawmakers prepare for a likely return to Springfield next week to craft a state budget, Gov. Pat Quinn has been reaching out to Democrats to find votes for the proposals he supports. Democrats have until the end of May to approve a state budget by themselves before they need Republican help.
Lawmakers Expected to Return to Springfield Next Week
Champaign WCIA (CBS) 3 – Governor Pat Quinn says lawmakers will likely return to the capitol next week to hammer out the final details of a state budget for the next fiscal year.
State Capitol Q&A: Gaming machines at horse tracks Last year’s legislative session was the first time in more than a decade that Illinois saw the approval of a capital construction program.
How can Illinois (aka Greece) climb out of its deep budget hole?
Chicago Now – Tribune columnist Eric Zorn and I debate how Illinois could–if ever–resolve its financial crisis. To Eric from Dennis: We have seen Greece, and it is us. When Greek mobs were rioting over government austerity measures needed to secure sufficient international loans to keep the country afloat, the discussion on CNBC immediately turned to whether the indebtedness contagion would spread to the United States.
Kristina Rasmussen: State can balance budget without tax hike, borrowing
Springfield State Journal Register – For Illinois legislators, it’s a time for choosing. The clock on the regular legislative session is ticking down. When legislators return to Springfield later this month, they’ll be reminded that some choices will be harder than others. How we handle this year’s $4.7 billion budget deficit will continue to be one of the most difficult questions facing state leaders.
GOP candidate for lt. gov. won’t release taxes
Southern Illinoisan – answer the real issues that voters care about,” Plummer said in a statement. His running mate, Bill Brady, briefly allowed public access to his returns, while Democratic candidates Gov. Pat Quinn and Sheila Simon have provided their returns to The Associated Press. But Plummer and Brady have rebuffed requests to see Plummer’s returns.
Audit finds Blagojevich needlessly used outside attorneys while governor, spread cost among several departments
Decatur Herald and Review – decision to hire outside attorneys was a drain on state coffers. “(T)he same work potentially could have been performed internally by the attorney general for less,” Holland noted. Gov. Pat Quinn, who replaced the ousted Blagojevich in January 2009, has attempted to limit the use of outside counsel. A memo from Quinn’s top lawyer to agencies under the governor’s control issued
Report rips legal bills Blago ran up as governor
Chicago Sun Times – Unfortunately, Gov. Blagojevich chose to do otherwise,” attorney general spokeswoman Natalie Bauer said, adding that the current administration rarely seeks outside counsel. Gov. Quinn spokeswoman Annie Thompson said that in April 2009, Quinn released a memo to all agencies outlining that “absent exceptional circumstances, the Office of the Attorney General,
You Paid For It: Blago’s Impeachment Defense
Champaign WCIA (CBS) 3 – all, the governor’s office only paid $21,775 of the total $7.2 million, according to the audit. The audit of the office took place over two years, and includes both Blagojevich and current Gov. Pat Quinn. The Quinn administration claims most, if not all, of the issues listed in the audit happened during the previous administration. A Quinn spokeswoman told WCIA-3 the governor sent out a memo
Blago Petitions U.S. Supreme Court
NBC Chicago – Attorneys for Rod Blagojevich have filed two petitions with the U.S. Supreme Court, attempting to delay the start of the former governor’s corruption trial until a critical ruling is rendered by the high court within the next six weeks. The petitions, sent by overnight mail, ask the court to order a halt in the proceedings until it rules on the so-called “Honest Services” statute,
National News
The Teachers’ Unions’ Last Stand
New York Times – MICHAEL MULGREW is an affable former Brooklyn vocational-high-school teacher who took over last year as head of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers when his predecessor, Randi Weingarten, moved to Washington to run the national American Federation of Teachers. Over breakfast in March, we talked about a movement spreading across the country to hold public-school teachers accountable by compensating, promoting or even removing them according to the results they produce in class, as measured in part by student test scores.
Texas Prohibits Unions Taking PAC Money from Teachers’ Paychecks
Chicago Now – Because the Legislature has not expressly or impliedly authorized school districts to process payroll deductions for contributions to political committees such as TSTA-PAC and NEA-Fund, Texas laws prohibits school districts from processing such contributions. So teachers unions in the Lone Star State will no longer be allowed to forcefully remove money out of teachers’
Incumbents Beware: Primary Voters Send Harsh Message to Both Parties
In quick succession Tuesday night, the jittery inhabitants of Washington’s marble halls found three more reasons to worry about their staying power
Bangkok Siege Ends, But Thailand Faces Deeper Crisis
As Thai troops disperse the protesters who have kept Bangkok in a state of siege for two months, fears grow that the political crisis gripping the country will only deepen
Scientists Escalate Warnings About Gulf Oil Spill
As the oil slick threatens to enter the loop current that curls around Florida and up the East Coast of the U.S., some scientists and federal officials predict increasing harm
Specter, Lincoln, Sestak: The Lessons Learned
Coverage of Tuesday night’s political primaries in several U.S. states. Get more details on The Page
American Idol: Judging the Final Three
In their last American Idol performance before the final, the contestants each call their own tune — and sing tunes chosen by the judges. Who will go home with the bronze medal, and who will advance to the final showdown?
SEC proposes rules to halt another ‘flash crash’
Twelve days after the stock market took a historic plunge that raised fears of another financial crisis, federal officials are still struggling to understand what went wrong even as they offer proposals for how to avoid another “flash crash.”
(By Zachary A. Goldfarb, The Washington Post)
Thai troops advance on protest camp
BANGKOK — After weeks of escalating confrontation, soldiers backed by armored vehicles deployed in force early Wednesday in the center of the Thai capital, moving toward the fortified encampment of anti-government protesters entrenched behind bamboo barricades in this modern Asian metropolis.
(By Andrew Higgins, The Washington Post)
Heavy oil reaches La. marshland
VENICE, LA. — A tide of sludgy oil has begun washing into the fringes of Louisiana’s coastal marshes, officials said Tuesday, as BP continued to siphon some of the oil gushing from a damaged well on the gulf floor but remained days away from trying to cap the leak.
(By David A. Fahrenthold and Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post)
The House Republicans’ Class(lessness) of ‘94
Souder is just one more Republican from the class of ‘94 flouting the values he once touted.
(By Dana Milbank, The Washington Post)
To deflect and serve
To be a waiter working amidst Washington’s powerbrokers means having one’s Social Security number screened weekly if not daily.
(By Robin Givhan, The Washington Post)
Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 19, 2010
habitué \huh-BICH-oo-ey\, noun:
One who frequents a particular place, especially a place offering a specific pleasurable activity.