{"id":404234,"date":"2010-03-08T16:15:17","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T21:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/?p=6263"},"modified":"2010-03-08T16:15:17","modified_gmt":"2010-03-08T21:15:17","slug":"in-the-news-march-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/404234","title":{"rendered":"In the News ~ March 8"},"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 <\/em><\/h2>\n

Voice of the People, Mar. 06<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – Tribune increased the cost of its newspaper; sometimes you have to get more revenue. The state is in a similar situation. A tax increase is the appropriate response. \u2014Ken Swanson, president, Illinois Education Association,<\/p>\n

Teacher Contracts Almost Up In Districts 26, 59, 21<\/a>
\nElk Grove Village –\u00a0 Trails School Dist. 26 in Mt. Prospect are expected to begin in the near future, since the district’s teacher’s contract expires at the end of June. Supt. Dr. Dane Delli said he and River Trails Education Association President Ann Forman are currently working on setting up a pre-negotiations meeting where they will discuss how the process will play out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

D203 teachers approve contact<\/a>
\nGlen Ellyn Sun –\u00a0 approved the proposed terms of a three-year contract Friday, one that calls for an estimated average annual increase in base pay of 1 percent over the life of the contract. Naperville Unit Education Association voted 91.8 percent to ratify the terms of the contract, on which the Board of Education will vote on Monday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dist. 1, teachers agree to 3-year contract<\/a>
\nMorris Daily Herald – COAL CITY \u2013 At a special meeting Thursday, the Coal City District #1 Board of Education approved a new three-year contract with the Coal City Community Unit Education Association\/IEA\/NEA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tough budget lesson faces Moline schools Monday night<\/a>
\nQuad Cities Dispatch Argus – cuts also are proposed, although Lanty McGuire, Moline’s assistant superintendent of human resources, would not release agenda attachments containing details or staff names of potential cuts. Moline Education Association president Ken Schneck said he has been told the affected teachers will be notified before the end of the school year if they will be rehired.<\/p>\n

Charleston may act on teaching cuts next week<\/a>
\nJournal&Gazette Times-Courier – projected otherwise, which he mostly blames on the outlook of state education funding and reimbursements.A list of possible teaching reductions Littleford brought to the meeting included eliminating teachers, not replacing teachers who are retiring or who resigned and transferring some teachers and not filling their old positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 300 cuts would hit parochial school families hard<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Herald – Last month, the Community Unit District 300 school board heard an earful from parents who oppose proposed cuts to transportation for the dual language program. That display, in which dozens of parents essentially forced the board to relocate\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ball-Chatham parents fight to keep pre-K<\/a>\u00a0 After learning that pre-kindergarten will be among budget cuts to help the Ball\u00adChatham School District cope with a projected $2.2 million loss in state funding, parents are lobbying to keep the program intact.\u00a0 They also are circulating a peti\u00adtion to be given to the governor, leg\u00adislators and school board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ISAT can test integrity of educators<\/a>
\nElgin Courier News – they show up in the darndest places, too. School Superintendent Jose Torres found that out the hard way when a memo intended for elementary school principals in Elgin’s District U46 arrived in some teachers’ inboxes instead. And the teachers were “insulted” because the message came across a tad harsh: Get caught cheating and you can get canned.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Forum Spotlight: Don’t put state MAP grants in jeopardy again<\/a>\u00a0 Last October, Illinois lawmakers voted to restore $205 million in scholarships for needy college students going to school this spring that had been cut from the state’s Monetary Award Program. Though they didn’t identify a source of funding to pay for the scholarships, and though some have questioned what Gov. Pat Quinn’s motivations were in his campaign to restore them, it is good that the bill passed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Keep the best teachers<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune Editorial – \u00a0Last in, first out. Illinois law requires <\/em>that teacher layoffs be based on seniority unless a school district and its local union negotiate different rules. Result: seniority is the deciding factor everywhere, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. So law and custom protect older teachers \u2014 whether they’re good teachers or bad teachers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Political News <\/em><\/h2>\n

\u00a0Illiois budget to hit schools, police, child care<\/a>
\nArlington Heights Daily Herald – SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to fill the biggest deficit in Illinois history includes cuts so severe that 17,000 teachers could lose their jobs, thousands of poor families would get less help with child care and fewer state troopers would patrol the roads, a top Quinn aide said Saturday.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawmakers waiting for us to demand a tax hike<\/a>
\nBeacon News – For some time now, this page has taken state legislators to task for doing nothing while Rome burns, figuratively. Now, with some of their jobs at stake in the Nov. 2 election, some actions are being talked about in Springfield, although none of them are pleasant.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blame state lawmakers for pension debacle, critic says<\/a>\u00a0 Certainly fluctuating markets have affected pension investments, but much of the blame for the shortfall — up from the $3.4 billion gap in 1999 –can be laid at the feet of state lawmakers who passed laws allowing such “gross underfunding,” said Lawrence Msall, president of the federation, a tax watchdog group.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pension shortfall near $6,000 for every Chicago resident<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Herald – Taxpayer-supported pension funds in the Chicago region for police, firefighters and teachers, among others, have amassed an $18.5 billion deficit, according to a top civic organization pushing reforms. In all, a report released today by the Civic Federation concludes the shortfalls\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police and fire pensions: Untouchable?<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Southtown – It’s an election year. Any changes in pension formulas – and we’re not talking about touching current workers’ pensions – will be met ferociously by the Illinois Education Association and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Politics will stymie any financial fix<\/a>
\nArlington Heights Daily – “cut spending (but not anything that would affect me).” The simple truth is that for decades the people running this state have been putting off paying their bills (borrowing from the teacher pension funds, using the money from the stimulus plan, delaying payments to schools, hospitals and care providers, etc.). The state does not have enough money because we have the 41st lowest\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn has high hill to climb in budget speech<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Southtown – These are not good times. The budget Gov. Pat Quinn will deliver at noon Wednesday instead will focus on how the state will cope with a record-setting deficit and a still-sluggish economy that isn’t strong enough to bail the state out\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A speech for Quinn<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune Editorial – Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday will propose a State of Illinois budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Here’s the candid address he should deliver:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tom Cross Discusses GOP Plan for Budget<\/a>
\nChicago WFLD (Fox) 32 – In anticipation of Gov. Pat Quinn\u2019s budget address next week, House Republicans have presented their own plan for balancing the budget — bringing back jobs and creating reform\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Governor’s Race Heating Up Already<\/a>
\nPeoria WEEK (NBC) 25 – “Those of you in the TV arena will be happy to know you will be getting some checks from Brady campaign.” The conservative downstate senator is taking on liberal Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in a race that will be a clear contrast for voters. “He believes he needs to raise your taxes, increase the size of the government, and keep the status quo,” said Brady.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn stresses differences with Brady<\/a>
\nDecatur WAND (NBC) 17 – Gov. Pat Quinn says there’s a “Grand Canyon” of difference between him and Republican Bill Brady. The State Board of Elections on Friday declared Brady the official winner of the Republican nomination\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brady emerges as Republican nominee for Ill. governor, offering stark contrast with Quinn<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – His victory by just 193 votes out of more than 767,000 cast persuaded the second-place finisher to concede and sets up a stark contrast for voters between Brady and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. They differ on social issues, economic policy and plans for closing the state’s record $13 billion deficit. Quinn, who became governor when Rod Blagojevich\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Brady to have a chance against Quinn, he needs Chicago face time<\/a>\u00a0 More than 94 percent of Chicago area Republicans picked someone other than Brady in the seven-candidate Feb. 2 primary. He received just 23,579 votes in all of Chicago and the collar counties, where 406,655 of the state’s 767,485 Republican votes originated in the primary for governor.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bill Brady finds himself standing in a harsher light<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune -from the real issues facing Illinois,” Brady explained. But that awareness alone didn’t insulate Brady from the harsh glow of the statewide limelight when he tried to attack Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s ill-fated and unannounced program to release prison inmates early. Brady contended a man released early from prison had been accused of murder, but didn’t check available records or contact\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Local Republicans close ranks around Brady<\/a>
\nQuad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – in any way I can to ensure the Republican Party wins back the governor’s office in November,” Sen. Dillard said. “As I’ve said countless times during the campaign, Illinois is a state in crisis. Pat Quinn cannot lead, and shows no urgency in putting people back to work.” Rich Morthland of Cordova, the GOP candidate for 71st District state representative, said, “By electing the downstate team\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Daughter Of Late Senator Submits Lt. Gov. Application Jan Coleman Reporting<\/a>
\nChicago WBBM 780 Radio – named the nominee “a long shot”. But she says she’s committed to helping the Democrats secure a victory in the fall. Simon is on good terms with her potential running mate, Governor Pat Quinn, having served on his government reform commission. Currently an Associate Professor of Law at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blago-era pacts to be reviewed by Quinn administration<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times – The Quinn administration plans a massive review of more than 250 government contracts made under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to see if they need to be reduced or rebid. The plan, which Gov. Quinn will announce Wednesday in his budget address, is to examine all contracts of more than $1 million each issued before January 2009.<\/p>\n

National News <\/em><\/h2>\n

California, other states face problem of growing pension liabilities<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – But the outlook has darkened in the last 18 months with the onset of the recession of 2008 and 2009. Both the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State teachers’ Retirement System lost more than a fifth of their portfolio values in the 2008-09 fiscal year, when they had about 87% of needed pension funds in their portfolios.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why we can’t get rid of failing teachers<\/a>\u00a0 Newsweek – The relative decline of American education at the elementary- and high-school levels has long been a national embarrassment as well as a threat to the nation’s future. Once upon a time, American students tested better than any other students in the world. Now, ranked against European schoolchildren, America does about as well as Lithuania, behind at least 10 other nations. Within the United States, the achievement gap between white students and poor and minority students stubbornly persists\u2014and as the population of disadvantaged students grows, overall scores continue to sag.<\/p>\n

TIME.com Today’s Top Stories<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The 2010 Oscars: The Most Memorable Moments<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

From Ben Stiller’s Na’vi tail to Kathryn Bigelow’s historic win as best director, this year’s Oscars charmed its audience with plenty of surprising moments<\/p>\n

Iraqis Ignore Violence and Vote. Now the Hard Part<\/a><\/h3>\n

The election is over. But the counting \u2014 and the dealing \u2014 could go on for a while<\/p>\n

Maciel Scandal Puts Focus on a Secretive Church Order<\/a><\/h3>\n

Will new revelations about the Mexican priest force the Pope to launch an investigation of the controversial Legion of Christ?<\/p>\n

How Obama Is Making the Same Mistakes as Bush<\/a><\/h3>\n

Obama’s stumbles atop the high-wire of running the federal government has created perhaps the greatest danger to his presidency, and they are oddly reminiscent of the misguided practices which tripped up his predecessor<\/p>\n

Being Gay in Uganda: One Couple’s Story <\/a><\/h3>\n

Life is tough for Uganda’s homosexuals. Here’s the story of one couple battling the government, a new law, and suspicious neighbors, all to be left alone to be themselves<\/p>\n

Word of the Day for Monday, March 8, 2010<\/em><\/h1>\n

languor<\/strong> \\LANG-guhr; LANG-uhr\\, noun<\/em>:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Mental or physical weariness or fatigue.
\n2.<\/strong> Listless indolence, especially the indolence of one who is satiated by a life of luxury or pleasure.
\n3.<\/strong> A heaviness or oppressive stillness of the air.<\/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 Voice of the People, Mar. 06 […]<\/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-404234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404234","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=404234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}