{"id":546175,"date":"2010-04-28T16:38:40","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T20:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/?p=7528"},"modified":"2010-04-28T16:38:40","modified_gmt":"2010-04-28T20:38:40","slug":"in-the-news-april-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/546175","title":{"rendered":"In the News ~ April 28"},"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<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

Daily Herald Pension Series <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Reducing benefits, raising taxes among proposed pension fixes<\/a>\u00a0 Imagine borrowing money to pay your mortgage every year. That’s right, actually going deeper into hock to pay your debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First steps to solve pension crisis<\/a>\u00a0 This could be the year Illinois legislators make their payment to the state pension systems, rein in pension excesses and demonstrate their commitment to carving away at a $78 billion debt they’ve spent decades ignoring.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

D-26 lays out new options for teachers<\/a>
\nCrystal Lake Northwest – The outlook for District 26 teachers is more grim than once thought. For the fourth time, the school board formally has requested that the union make concessions to help alleviate the pain of recent budget cuts and layoffs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some teacher jobs saved in Kaneland<\/a>
\nBeacon News – The Kaneland School Board has authorized the hiring back of teachers previously pink-slipped under a plan that could have eliminated as many as 30 staff positions. The jobs are being saved as a result of the teachers union’s acceptance of a salary freeze,\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois school bias task force tussles with time<\/a>
\nAlton Telegraph – A task force assigned to study why black students are suspended and expelled from Illinois schools at much higher rates than whites is in danger of missing the deadline to hand in its assignment. The panel, created by an Illinois Senate resolution,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Letter: Quinn, Madigan: Get some guts, stop the cuts<\/a>
\nQuad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – I marched in Springfield last Wednesday with my two sons. I am not a teacher or a state trooper or a state employee. But I am also no fool. \u00a0We cannot cut our way out of this crisis. What we need is enough revenue to pay for services our state provides! We must pass House Bill 174!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unit 5 to discuss another $7.1M in cuts<\/a>
\nBloomington Pantagraph – \u00a0$86 million for 2010-11. \u201cWe\u2019ll have (everything) we actually have to implement set and ready,\u201d Getty said, noting the board is trying to make \u201cflexible, thoughtful decisions.\u201d Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed cutting the per-student foundation grants by $450 in the state budget that will begin July 1. That would reduce that key source of school revenue to $5,769 per student.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parents, teachers object to multi-age classroom proposal<\/a>\u00a0 <\/span>The majority of parents and teachers at a Tuesday meeting about implementing multi-age classrooms at the new Marquette Academy gave the concept a failing grade.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

None of your business<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune Editorial – \u00a0One measure would remove a provision awarding attorneys’ fees to citizens who have to sue to obtain documents that are illegally withheld. Lawmakers began this assault in January by exempting teacher evaluations, in exchange for teachers union support on a bill that was supposed to help Illinois qualify for federal Race to the Top money.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plainfield school board in turf war<\/a>
\nPlainfield Sun – Plainfield School Board agreed Monday night to investigate installing artificial turf at its four high school stadiums despite budget concerns. \u00a0\u00a0While board member Mike Kelly likes the idea of turf, he said it wasn’t the right time to conduct a feasibility study. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Finances may force pay-to-play at Mercer County schools<\/a>
\nQuad Cities Dispatch Argus – “The revenue shortfall will cause us to use our cash reserves. That, in turn, will make us vulnerable to future revenue shortfalls.” Last month, the school board cut 16 staff member and eliminated 21 positions to save the district an estimated $589,000. The board is seeking to cut $1.2 million from a roughly $14 million budget next year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

PHOTO: Stepping out<\/a>
\nAlton Telegraph – The Alton High School A-Town Steppers performed this past month in front of 1,500 educators for the Illinois Education Association Conference in Rosemont. The A-Town Steppers opened the conference with a performance that received a standing ovation from the educators and government officials.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

SIUE students return to Springfield to ensure MAP grants<\/a>
\nEdwardsville Alestle – He said Gov. Pat Quinn will not cut huge amounts of funding in an election year, but something will need to be done about the money situation. Currently, the 2011 budget has a $1.3 billion cut in education funding, but a 1 percent income tax increase may take the place of the funding cut. State Senator Bill Haine said SIU has made some great improvements to its campus\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

WIU asks Governor for funding schedule<\/a>
\nQuincy KHQA (CBS) 7 – the university’s annual income…putting stress on the school to pay their own bills and payrolls. Now University leaders, including WIU’s President Al Goldfarb, have sent a letter to Governor Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes asking them to set up a regular payment schedule to enable public universities to stay afloat. Goldfarb said, “It’s unprecedented.\u00a0 We spend every month wondering\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

State lawmakers plan to leave Springfield with no budget<\/a>
\nStreator Times-Press – Illinois lawmakers expect to be home at the end of next week, even if it will take a little longer to finish the new state budget.\u00a0 Legislators expect their last day in Springfield to be on or about May 7, the scheduled adjournment date \u2014 and about three weeks earlier than usual. But few if any legislators say the state will have a budget by that time.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois lawmakers send sexting bill to governor<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – \u00a0post online racy pictures of their underage classmates would get juvenile court supervision that could result in mandatory counseling or community service, under legislation sent to Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday. The measure aims to educate teens about the dangers of “sexting” while modernizing state statutes for the Internet age. Under current Illinois law, teens caught with nude photos\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn responds to Civic Federation criticism of his budget proposals<\/a>
\nnecessary this legislative session to move Illinois toward budget and fiscal stability. Budget cuts in discretionary spending made by the Quinn administration both last year and this year must continue, and new revenues are needed to restore fiscal balance. One without the other cannot do the job. Both are necessary\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Redistricting proposal advances to House floor<\/a>\u00a0 A Democratic-backed redistricting plan is just one step away from legislative approval. But it still lacks the crucial support from Republicans in the Illinois House to clear that final step.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jil Tracy throws her support behind bill to stop unfunded mandates<\/a>
\nQuincy KHQA (CBS) 7 – State Representative Jil Tracy is co-sponsoring a bill that hopes to put an end to unfunded mandates for Illinois school districts. QUINCY, IL — Every year schools are forced to follow new guidelines about one thing or another. But many times these mandates do not come with additional funding\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

NEW: Senate nixes taxpayer-funded Blagojevich portrait<\/a>
\nAlton Telegraph – \u00a0A proposal that would keep tax money from funding a statehouse portrait of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is headed to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. The bill passed Tuesday on a 52-1 vote with state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, casting the only dissenting vote \u00a0<\/p>\n

Giannoulias at financial reform rally in Chicago<\/a>\u00a0 Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is calling on lawmakers in Washington to pass financial reform, and he says those who don’t supp\u00a0 rt it will have a fight on their hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emanuel: No Subpoena From Blagojevich’s Lawyers<\/a>
\nChicago Public Radio – White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel says lawyers for Rod Blagojevich have not subpoenaed him to testify in the ex-Illinois governor’s corruption trial. Blagojevich’s attorneys have asked the judge to subpoena President Barack Obama. They say Mr. Obama’s public statements contradict statements from other witnesses, and they want him to take the stand\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

17,000 NJ Students Use Facebook To Organize Statewide Walk-Out<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune – \u00a0Last week, students in Edison and Teaneck protested their failed budget. 58 percent of school budgets in the Garden State were recently defeated in a vote. The NJ Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, say they do not endorse Tuesday’s mass student walkout. “I think the best outcome would be for the students to be in<\/p>\n

Bill would put new ND employees into 401(k) plans<\/a>
\nBelleville News-Democrat – Newly hired government employees and school teachers in North Dakota should have their own retirement savings plans instead of a pension that’s guaranteed by taxpayers, a state lawmaker says<\/p>\n

\u00a0Wall Street Journal:<\/strong> Teacher Absences Plague Schools<\/a><\/p>\n

(Barbara Martinez, Op-Ed, New York)<\/p>\n

\u201cOne-fifth of New York City teachers missed work for more than two weeks last school year, with absenteeism most acute in some of the poorest districts, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Politics Daily:<\/strong> Utah to Consider Elimination of 12th Grade<\/a><\/p>\n

(Elizabeth Schiffman, News, Utah)<\/p>\n

“We don’t want to rush students’ learning experience,” Alexis Holmes, policy analyst in the National Education Association’s Department of Education Policy and Practice, said. “There is a reason for allowing students to have the time to naturally mature academically as well as emotionally. . . . To encourage students to leave school in 3 years and provide them with no support, we don’t see that as being a successful proposal.”<\/p>\n

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

Capping Career, Dodd Relishes Fight For Financial Reform<\/a><\/p>\n

Some observers speculated that the Connecticut Senator might move the bill more to the right. But instead he has doubled down on Main Street<\/p>\n

Is Netanyahu Quietly Freezing Jerusalem Settlements? <\/a><\/p>\n

Publicly, the Israeli government remains defiant of U.S. demands to halt building on occupied land, but the bureaucratic mechanism for authorizing new construction appears to have ground to a halt<\/p>\n

The Derby: Is Kentucky Losing Its Horse Supremacy?<\/a><\/p>\n

Behind the undiminished pageantry of Saturday’s Run for the Roses, the state’s defining industry is in trouble<\/p>\n

Greek Crisis: It’s Gut Check Time for Europe<\/a><\/p>\n

So now Europe may have a real<\/em> crisis on its hands. It’s been clear to financial markets for months that the debt woes in Greece could spread to the Eurozone’s other financially unsound PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain).<\/p>\n

American Idol<\/em>: A Little Bit Country <\/a><\/p>\n

American Idol<\/em> introduced megaselling mentor Shania Twain as the woman who “made country pop”<\/p>\n

Word of the Day for Wednesday, April 28, 2010<\/em><\/h1>\n

pellucid<\/strong> \\puh-LOO-sid\\, adjective<\/em>:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Transparent; clear; not opaque.
\n2.<\/strong> Easily understandable.<\/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 Daily Herald Pension Series Reducing benefits, […]<\/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-546175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546175","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=546175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}