{"id":350386,"date":"2010-02-22T16:56:38","date_gmt":"2010-02-22T21:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/?p=6034"},"modified":"2010-02-22T16:56:38","modified_gmt":"2010-02-22T21:56:38","slug":"in-the-news-feb-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/350386","title":{"rendered":"In the News ~ Feb. 22"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below are<\/strong>\u00a0links to news stories of interest from\u00a0newspapers that came up during a search\u00a0today.\u00a0\u00a0These 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\u00a0your computer is recommended.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

State News \"\"<\/h2>\n

Schools being squeezed by late state payments<\/a>\u00a0 School districts across central Illinois are slashing their budgets, and in many cases, classes and teacher positions, in anticipation of a sharp drop in state funding for public schools next year. Here\u2019s a look at what area school districts have cut or are proposing to cut for the 2010-2011 year.<\/p>\n

Frustrated schools advertising how much they’re owed<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times – The cash-starved State of Illinois is months late and more than $700 million behind in paying its education bills, and at some school districts, taxpayers don’t have to go far to find out exactly how much their schools are owed. Districts stretching across Naperville, Carpentersville and Rockford have posted signs outside their schools announcing how much the state owes them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

State backlog totals $725 million<\/a>
\nSpringfield State Journal Register – grade schools totals about $725 million, according to Carol Knowles, spokeswoman for Comptroller Daniel Hynes. The backlog consists of grants for the following categories: $372 million for special education, $153 million for transportation, $5 million for breakfast\/lunch, $5 million for summer school, $25 million for textbooks and $164 million for all others. General state aid payments,<\/p>\n

School Districts Forced To Lay Off Staff<\/a>
\nHarrisburg WSIL (ABC) 3 – School leaders across southern Illinois say they were promised money, but it hasn’t arrived. It is now forcing them to make layoffs.\u00a0 “Everything is cutting into the flesh at this point,” Harrisburg School Superintendent Dennis Smith said. “There is no program that we can cut and say that’s fat.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kaneland plan: Lay off 112 teachers to prepare for budget disaster<\/a>
\nGeneva Kane County Chronicle – Thus, the workforce reduction plan proposed by administrators is, at this point, a worst-case scenario, Schuler said. Linda Zulkowski, president of the Kaneland Education Association, said the teachers union did not have a response to the proposal at this time. \u201cWe obviously did not anticipate that the state was going to pull a last-minute surprise\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

U46 looking for more state aid<\/a>
\nElgin Courier News – only problem is, as district officials reiterated at a community forum at Bartlett High School Thursday night, Illinois has no money to pay its current bills and state officials plan to cut even more education funding next year. Currently, U46 is classified as a Kane County district since the majority of its property taxes in the past stemmed from there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 214 not anticipating layoffs, big cuts<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Herald – We will prepare a balanced budget and there will need to be some reductions, but overall we’re OK. We’re not great, but we’re OK.” The Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board unanimously approved 2010-2011 budget guidelines and assumptions on Thursday. The budget includes revenues and expenditures each totaling about $223 million.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 186 has high number of officials<\/a>\u00a0 Chances are, someone will ask about administrative expenses during the Springfield School District\u2019s public forum Thursday at Grant Middle School to discuss Superintendent Walter Milton\u2019s proposal to cut roughly $5.3 million \u2014 including 56 teaching positions. Last school year, the Springfield School District had more administrators per pupil than any other large public school district in the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Milton budget plan would cut 56 teaching positions\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 Springfield School Superintendent Walter Milton is calling for elimination of 56 teaching positions \u2013 roughly 5 percent of the district\u2019s teaching staff — as part of $5.3 million in budget cuts for the 2010-2011 school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

School Districts Forced To Lay Off Staff<\/a>
\nHarrisburg WSIL (ABC) 3 – the primary election on February 2nd,’” Siebert said. “Guess what we’re hearing now? Wait until after the general election in November.” Siebert says he cannot wait. Thursday night, he and the school board dismissed 17 employees for the next school year. They include a bus driver, assistant principal, nine teachers, three teacher’s aids, and three others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Forty Triad jobs on chopping block<\/a>
\nSt. Clair County Journal – 2 million from its annual budget of about $37 million, including 25-0 certified staff and 15-20 non-certified staff. The district has approximately 270 certified and 195 non-certified staff. The school board has to approve the plans. The district is expected to lose at least $1 million in general state aid, as well as significant losses of other state funding like transportation\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

D-47 board to cut $2.35M from budget<\/a>
\nCrystal Lake Northwest Herald – The District 47 school board approved a staffing plan that would trim $2.35 million from the next budget as a first step in addressing the district\u2019s deficit\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unit 5 authorizes early childhood co-op reduction in force<\/a>
\nMarion Daily Republican – Carterville\u2019s school board on Thursday completed the final vote to rif Williamson County Early Childhood Co-op staff as a budget precaution. The cooperative\u2019s executive board voted for the reduction in force last week, but as the program\u2019s administrative district, the Unit 5 vote finalized the decision.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

CUSD #139 School Board looking for public input on budget crisis<\/a>
\nChester Sun Times – The Board of Education of Chester Unit School District #139 is looking for comments and suggestions from the public about the budget crisis the district is facing for Fiscal Year 2010-2011. \u00a0<\/p>\n

District 118: It may get worse<\/a>
\nDanville Commercial-News – cuts are all but guaranteed, could extend past state-funded programs and will likely affect the district\u2019s course for years to come. Superintendent Mark Denman will make a final pitch to school board members at Wednesday\u2019s regular meeting about the necessity of staff cuts in the face of uncertain state funding for next year. If approved, he said an official staff-reduction\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Superintendent turnover continues in Pawnee schools<\/a>\u00a0 PAWNEE \u2014 It isn\u2019t uncommon for school superintendents to change jobs in Illinois, but it\u2019s become almost a regular occurrence in the Pawnee School District.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Local schools contending with state’s new unfunded mandates<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Herald – In mid-December, Eddy went to bat again, filing legislation that, if approved, would allow districts to get around complying with certain unfunded mandates with a school board’s vote. The legislation would not apply to special education, transportation, lunch programs or coursework required for high school graduation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chicago high school considers required drug tests\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 CHICAGO \u2014 Multiple choice. Essays. Pop quizzes. Students at Marist High School may be subjected to yet another test next school year, but it\u2019s one they can prepare for by doing nothing at all. Principal Larry Tucker insists a proposed new drug testing policy at the school isn\u2019t geared toward punishing students at the coed Catholic school in Chicago\u2019s Mount Greenwood community.<\/p>\n

Political News<\/h2>\n

‘Doomsday is here for the state of Illinois’<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times – To become solvent, the state must enact the largest tax-increase package in Illinois history, whack another $2 billion from already starved government programs and wrest major financial concessions from the state’s unionized work force, a nonpartisan government watchdog contends.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Civic Federation backs big state tax hike — if spending cuts come first<\/a>\u00a0 Crain’s Chicago Business (blog)\u00a0– Pat Quinn and his likely Republican challenger, state Sen. Bill Brady. But the candidates’ plans go further. For instance, Mr. Quinn wants big increases in … \u00a0<\/p>\n

Civic Fed urges reform, tax increases to avoid financial disaster<\/a>\u00a0 WBBM780\u00a0– A respected research group warns the state of Illinois is courting financial disaster if it keeps doing what it’s been doing. …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Governments are drowning in red ink, and it’s time to act<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times – Beginning today, in an ongoing public service series titled “Maxed Out,” the Chicago Sun-Times — in both its news and editorial pages — will report on and analyze this alarming economic free fall. Today, we report on the Civic Federation’s new prescription for solving the crisis, and in an editorial on Page 24 we explain why a state income tax hike cannot be avoided.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cullerton questions GOP candidate on budget plan<\/a>\u00a0 Belleville News Democrat\u00a0– ?Illinois Senate President John Cullerton is challenging Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady to present his own budget plan as the …\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Finke: WHEW! Promising open doors next time<\/a>\u00a0 Peoria Journal Star\u00a0– \u00a0Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, both agreed to the idea. One reason for it was to foster a candid discussion among senators. Whether it did we\u2019ll never know for sure because there were no independent witnesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When they aren’t doing nothing, they’re bullying<\/a>
\nElgin Courier News – We can almost call it extortion. At best, it’s political coercion of the worst sort. But that’s what our state lawmakers are up to these days, playing games while Illinois’ rudderless ship of state continues to founder and drift ever farther out into dangerous financial waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

50th In The Nation And Hiding<\/a>\u00a0 thejournal-news.net\u00a0– \u00a0Members of the Illinois Senate thumbed their noses at the entire state last Wednesday by holding a session in private-closed to the public …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our Opinion: General Assembly must follow public\u00a0meeting standards<\/a>\u00a0 The State Journal-Register\u00a0– \u00a0That’s a pretty basic tenet of our legislative process, and is clearly defined in the Illinois Constitution: \u201cSessions of each house of the …\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some Clarity Coming to Illinois Budget Hole?<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Public Radio\u00a0– \u00a0Governor Pat Quinn’s office will post the information on the internet as he prepares his 2010 budget plan. The General Assembly recently passed legislation …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawmaker proposals could worsen budget hole<\/a>\u00a0 Illinois lawmakers seem determined this year to prove true the mantra \u201canything is possible.\u201d Even though state government faces a massive budget problem, dozens of measures being pushed at the Capitol this spring would actually dig the hole deeper.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Statehouse Insider: ‘Transparency,’ Illinois-style<\/a>\u00a0 There\u2019s probably some academic out there who could write a research paper on the events in the Illinois Senate last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn’s courting of Duckworth over Turner sparks ire in black community<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Current\u00a0– \u00a0Pat Quinn’s recruitment of Tammy Duckworth over Art Turner. Duckworth, an assistant secretary at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and previously the …\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn’s lady friend denied state contract<\/a>\u00a0 Southtown Star\u00a0– Kristen McQueary<\/a>\u00a0– A state board that oversees pension assets rejected hiring an investment manager last week after learning that the firm’s president has a personal relationship with Gov. Pat Quinn, according to several sources familiar with the situation. \u00a0Monica Walker, who has been dating Quinn for some time, is president and founding partner of Holland Capital Management, a Chicago investment firm established in 1991 that has obtained state contracts previously. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Bernard Schoenburg: Macoupin Democrats need a leader \u2014 again<\/a>\u00a0MARK EDWARDS has stepped down as chairman of Macoupin County Democrats, forcing the party to pick a new leader for the second time in a matter of months. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Our Opinion: Efforts to weaken FOIA are a mistake<\/a>
\nSpringfield State Journal Register \u2013 There was hope that the passage of reforms to Illinois\u2019 Freedom of Information Act might someday lead to a new culture of openness in state and local government. It\u2019s safe to say that culture change hasn\u2019t yet started to happen.<\/p>\n

Palin’s Downstate trip a plus for state GOP?<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times – Will Sarah Palin play in Peoria? Except for a brief stop in Chicago to tape an Oprah Winfrey show last November, Palin’s first public appearance in Illinois will be April 17 in Washington, a town of about 14,000 near Peoria<\/p>\n

Reformer Emil Jones Quinn’s latest backer?<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Sun Times – Gov. Quinn and former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones often butted heads.\u00a0 Once, not even two years ago, Jones blew up at Quinn, accusing the then-lieutenant governor of committing “slander” against the Senate.<\/p>\n

\u00a0National News<\/h2>\n

Obama calls on govs to raise school standards to keep US students competitive<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – needed to succeed in college or work while they are in high school,” the White House said in the statement, “the nation sacrifices more than $3.7 billion a year in lost productivity and remedial education costs.” The White House said the governors have been working on the president’s Race to the Top program, which rewards school systems that raise standards and demonstrate<\/p>\n

\u00a0The poll that pushed the political\u00a0boundaries<\/a>\u00a0 Nevadans are meek, brutalized into submission by the Great Recession and a political culture dominated by powerful interests. So it\u2019s almost shocking when someone stands up and says, \u201cNo more.\u201d That\u2019s what the teachers union has been doing the past two weeks since Gov. Jim Gibbons\u2019 State of the State address<\/a> and the Democrats\u2019 response, if it could be called that.<\/p>\n

FBI said to be probing Pa. webcam case<\/a>\u00a0 law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case says the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into a Pennsylvania school district accused of activating webcams inside students’ homes without their knowledge.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0TIME.com Today’s Top Stories<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fixing the Senate by Forcing Real Filibusters<\/a><\/p>\n

One way to end the gridlock on Capitol Hill is to call the minority party’s bluff on blocking legislation<\/p>\n

Haitian PM: We Can Rise Out of Our Postquake Squalor<\/a><\/p>\n

As he prepares to sell his country’s recovery plan abroad, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive talks to TIME about the hopes and fears of his people<\/p>\n

In Canada, It’s Time to Panic <\/a><\/p>\n

Canada, already underachieving in the medal tables in the Games it’s hosting, suffered a rough hockey loss to the upstart Americans. Can the country revive its crushed psyche?<\/p>\n

Can Obama Fend Off the ‘Failure’ Attacks?<\/a><\/p>\n

Obama’s critics only have it half right. His presidency is in crisis. But it isn’t too late to turn things around<\/p>\n

Box Office Weekend: Shutter Island<\/em> Opens Big<\/a><\/p>\n

Its opening was the biggest debut weekend for any Scorsese picture, and any DiCaprio picture \u2014 yes, including Titanic<\/em><\/p>\n

Most Viewed Articles on washingtonpost.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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1)<\/strong> Daughter says pilot in Texas IRS crash was a hero <\/a><\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas — The daughter of a man who crashed his small plane into a building housing offices of the Internal Revenue Service called her father a hero for his anti-government views but said his actions, which killed an IRS employee, were “inappropriate.”<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong> Don’t scramble the jets <\/a><\/p>\n

Her borrowed suggestion for Obama on Iran should sound an alarm.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

3)<\/strong> Obsessed with smartphones, oblivious to the here and now <\/a><\/p>\n

Jay Ferrari was squatting on a step-stool next to the bathtub, which held his 4-year-old daughter and a rising tide, when he sensed an opening to use the Sicilian Dragon defense in his iPhone-to-iPhone chess match against his neighbor.<\/p>\n

4)<\/strong> The elephant at the summit <\/a><\/p>\n

No matter what happens on Thursday, Democrats must not give up on health-care reform.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

5)<\/strong> Fast-food breakfast sales hit snooze as fewer head to work <\/a><\/p>\n

The nation’s high unemployment rate has thrown millions of people out of work, scared shoppers away from stores and threatened the economic recovery. Now it’s taking a bite out of breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

6)<\/strong> A family lost, and a mind that will never be at peace <\/a><\/p>\n

SEOUL — “I am fool.” That self-assessment comes from Oh Kil-nam, a South Korean economist who moved to North Korea a quarter-century ago, dragging along his unhappy wife and two teenage daughters. He then defected to the West, leaving his family stranded in a country his wife had called “a living…<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

7)<\/strong> U.S. leaves Canada red, white — and blue <\/a><\/p>\n

VANCOUVER, B.C. — When U.S. Olympic hockey player Jamie Langenbrunner scored in the final period Sunday night, a shot ricocheting off of his skate blade into the net, he just about jumped out of the arena with joy. This wasn’t exactly a miracle on ice, but elements of it had become pretty<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

8.)<\/strong> Snow days weren’t quite what teens imagined <\/a><\/p>\n

With the record snowfall this winter, classrooms across the Washington area have spent weeks on hiatus. But when classes have been canceled, some teachers have moved their lessons to the Internet and pressed on — and they’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

9)<\/strong> Insurance-rate hikes targeted <\/a><\/p>\n

President Obama will call for new government power to regulate insurance-rate increases as part of comprehensive changes to the health-care system that the White House will unveil on its Web site Monday, senior officials said.<\/p>\n

10)<\/strong> We’re all Greek now <\/a><\/p>\n

The nation’s financial struggles should serve as a warning sign for other welfare states.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Word of the Day for Monday, February 22, 2010<\/em><\/h1>\n

fractious<\/strong> \\FRAK-shuhs\\, adjective<\/em>:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Tending to cause trouble; unruly.
\n2.<\/strong> Irritable; snappish; cranky.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below are\u00a0links to news stories of interest from\u00a0newspapers that came up during a search\u00a0today.\u00a0\u00a0These 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\u00a0your computer is recommended.\u00a0\u00a0 State News Schools being squeezed by late state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-350386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350386\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}