{"id":581785,"date":"2010-05-27T15:23:29","date_gmt":"2010-05-27T19:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/illinoiseducationassociation.org\/?p=8165"},"modified":"2010-05-27T15:23:29","modified_gmt":"2010-05-27T19:23:29","slug":"in-the-news-may-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/581785","title":{"rendered":"In the News ~ May 27"},"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<\/p>\n

State News\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Suburban school funding threatened by failure to pass cigarette tax increase<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Tribune\u00a0–\u00a0 Suburban school districts already strapped for cash are bracing for major state funding cuts unless lawmakers raise …<\/p>\n

Cigarette tax unlikely to pass House, perhaps leaving schools without funds<\/a>
\nDecatur Herald and Review – Local schools could face big cuts to the money they use for the operation of buses and special education programs unless lawmakers vote to raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack. That move was unlikely, though. The Illinois Senate approved a cigarette tax hike more than a year ago, but since then, House lawmakers haven’t shown much interest in doing the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illinois school reform efforts get more backing from districts, unions<\/a>
\nChicago Tribune –\u00a0 Race to the Top grants, the Illinois State Board of Education reported Wednesday. It’s unknown whether that will demonstrate enough support to win $400 million in the federal contest, at a time when Illinois schools face a backlog of unpaid bills and threatened budget cuts. “We’ve been told the expectation is not 100 percent of all districts,” said state Superintendent Christopher Koch.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Area school districts sign up for federal funding<\/a>
\nEffingham Daily News – A few area school districts have changed their stance and are signing up for a national race to secure federal funding for education reform, however other school districts are still leery of a program that hasn\u2019t even been tested. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Illinois finished fifth in the first round of applications, and the Illinois State Board of Education has asked school\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kane school districts apply for Race to the Top federal grants<\/a>
\nGeneva Kane County Chronicle – School districts in central Kane County are seeking to share in $400 million that the state hopes to receive in the next round of Race to the Top federal grants. Batavia, Geneva and Kaneland school districts all have signed memorandums of understanding as part of the state\u2019s effort to capture federal funds to be used\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 118 to recall 28 teachers<\/a>
\nDanville Commercial-News – \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely thrilled.\u201d That was the response of Danville Education Association President Robin Twidwell following Wednesday\u2019s announcement 28 full-time staff would be called back for next school year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

U-46 teachers approve one-year contract deal<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Herald – Elgin Area School District U-46 teachers voted to accept a one-year deal that would leave salaries flat and increase class sizes, officials announced Wednesday. Elgin teachers Association President Tim Davis said roughly 66 percent\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

ETA approves contract with School District U46<\/a>
\nElgin Courier – is signed by the governor, it doesn’t guarantee more U46 employees will be recalled. The reason, he said, is that the state is behind on payments from this school year and it could cut education funding for next school year. The district is facing a deficit of almost $50 million next school year that includes a shortage of more than $29 million in overdue funding from the state.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teachers to get raises in new School District 113 contract<\/a>
\nHighland Park News –\u00a0 Park high schools can expect salaries to go up 1 percent next school year and 2.7 percent the year after that. Those are the key financial terms of a contract inked between the School Board and teachers association May 17. The two-year contract roughly ties salary increases to the consumer price index, which typically determines the rate at which districts like High School District 113\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

District 120 staff inks new contract<\/a>
\nMundelein Review – After 18 months of negotiations, the certified staff of the Mundelein Consolidated High School District 120 have a new contract. School District 120 and the Mundelein Education Association reached a collective bargaining contract agreement on May 18. The three-year contract is retroactive to July 1, 2009 and will extend to June 30, 2012.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unit 5 late start proposal on some days advances<\/a>
\nBloomington Pantagraph – a year moved forward at Wednesday\u2019s school board meeting. The school board directed Superintendent Gary Niehaus, administrators and two designated board members to meet with the Unit Five Education Association to discuss a professional-development plan. Among other things, the plan would set aside time at the start of those days for teachers to work together on ways to improve instruct\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Superintendents seeking right fit leads to high turnover<\/a>
\nCrystal Lake Northwest Herald – for someone to move up and move on. … This probably is the way it\u2019s going to be until we\u2019re a bigger district.\u201d The district pays Gildea $143,767 annually, including the teachers\u2019 retirement contribution. Sharma-Lewis will make between $100,000 and $110,000, Amettis has said. Money isn\u2019t the only variable when superintendents seek a move.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unit 5 lays out gloomy budget scenarios<\/a>
\nBloomington Pantagraph –\u00a0 which was quickly dismissed by the board, to various borrowing options and spending cuts. All scenarios, however, depend on what the state decides regarding education funding as it battles a $13 billion deficit. \u201cThe uncertainty continues, unfortunately,\u201d Smith said. While state funding isn\u2019t settled yet, some school officials counseled<\/p>\n

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

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

Ill. House OKs borrowing billions in emergency budget plan<\/a>
\nCrains Chicago Business – which already face a huge shortfall, billions in lost revenue. Executives say they would have to sell assets to keep delivering monthly pension checks to retired state workers, downstate teachers, university employees and more. The borrowing plan initially failed, getting 70 of the 71 votes it needed. But the governor and legislative leaders leaped into action<\/p>\n

Illinois Senate unlikely to finish by deadline<\/a> Chicago Tribune (blog)\u00a0– Pat Quinn broad budget powers that would allow him to dole out money to state agencies as he sees fit. Historically lawmakers were in charge of setting …\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

State budget still not foregone conclusion<\/a>\u00a0 The Illinois Senate will take its stab at wrapping up a new state budget Thursday, but the results are anything but a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n

Illinois Policy Institute: Where are the cuts?<\/a>\u00a0 Illinois Policy Institute blog – A measly 1.5 percent reduction from last year’s spending levels is a far, far cry from the bold steps needed to balance this budget and prevent future structural deficits from piling up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Madigan still not committing to a tax increase for Illinois<\/a>\u00a0 Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan said any future tax increase for Illinois hinges on the state\u2019s weak revenues and how effectively Gov. Pat Quinn uses his emergency budget powers to cut spending.<\/p>\n

Ill. budget proposal raises complex questions<\/a>\u00a0 The Associated Press\u00a0–\u00a0 Democratic legislators are on the verge of passing a state budget that would patch over a $13 billion deficit. …\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Ill. House OKs borrowing billions in emergency budget plan<\/a>
\nCrains Chicago Business – systems, which already face a huge shortfall, billions in lost revenue. Executives say they would have to sell assets to keep delivering monthly pension checks to retired state workers, downstate teachers, university employees and more. The borrowing plan initially failed, getting 70 of the 71 votes it needed. But the governor and legislative leaders leaped into action, looking for lawmakers \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jury’s out on whether budget borrowing will hurt incumbents in fall elections<\/a>
\nDecatur Herald and Review – This year’s piecemeal state budget plan could mean problems for incumbents running for re-election in November, some lawmakers said. The proposed spending blueprint relies on $3.7 billion in borrowing to pay down pension obligations, which Democratic lawmakers contend was the only viable option on the table. Delaying payments could increase the state’s deficit,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn will wait on pension bill; UI will wait on borrowing, too<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Champaign\/Urbana News-Gazette (blog)\u00a0–\u00a0 Pat Quinn says he will act on a bill allowing public universities to borrow money to cover a state funding shortfall after he signs a state pension …\u00a0<\/p>\n

Area reps decry House vote to borrow $3.7 billion for state pensions<\/a>
\nCrystal Lake Northwest Herald – Illinois House approval to borrow billions of dollars to make state pension payments left McHenry County-area lawmakers reeling \u2013 but also hopeful that the state Senate would reject the borrowing measure. State House members voted, 71-44, on Tuesday to borrow $3.7 billion to make the state\u2019s annual contribution to troubled government pension systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back-to-school sales-tax holiday passes Illinois House<\/a>
\nChicago Sun Times –\u00a0 Gov. Quinn\u2019s bid to impose a sales-tax holiday passed the Illinois House today despite criticism from Republicans that the cash-strapped state government can\u2019t afford it. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Video poker bill goes to Quinn<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Tribune\u00a0– ?A controversial video poker bill that state gambling regulators fear will allow operators of illegal machines to stay in business throughout the state was …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate rejects Quinn’s veto of convention bill<\/a>\u00a0 Chicago Tribune\u00a0– ? Pat Quinn a sound defeat by rejecting his veto of legislation designed to cut costs at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center. …\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

You Wouldn’t Want to Live in the Governor’s Mansion, Either<\/a> NBC Chicago (blog)\u00a0 The Illinois Executive Mansion <\/a>is a beautiful Italiante home. Built in the mid-19th Century, it has an iron gate, a curved driveway, a manicured lawn. Inside, it\u2019s full of elaborate draperies, gilded wallpaper, Lincoln portraits and curving staircases.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Blagojevich faces fight of his life<\/a>
\nChicago Daily Herald – were investigating patronage hiring and reports that money management firms were being squeezed to come up with payoffs and campaign cash if they wanted the lucrative business of investing state teachers pension money. Blagojevich’s relationship with Dick Mell, his father-in-law, also had soured. Mell had made an explosive claim that a Blagojevich adviser was arranging state appointments \u00a0<\/p>\n

Blago’s team: Judge mishandled potential jurors<\/a>
\nWLS Chicago – Lawyers for former governor Rod Blagojevich want to restart the jury selection process for his upcoming trial. They claim the judge mishandled it and they want the start of the trial to be delayed. They filed a motion in court Tuesday saying the judge made a mistake by dismissing dozens of potential jurors for hardship reasons without consulting attorneys on either side.<\/p>\n

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

Clock ticking on 100,000 teachers’ jobs – Washington Post<\/a>
\nWMAQ-TV (MSNBC ) Chicago – plan relatively few layoffs but are squeezing costs, with Fairfax County scrapping most summer school, for example, and Montgomery County increasing class sizes in elementary grades. The National Education Association, the largest teachers union, said Wednesday that it is funding TV ads in markets that are home to potential swing votes among House Democrats.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

French unions strike to keep right to retire at 60<\/a>
\nBelleville News-Democrat -Aviation authorities expected flights at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle to be reduced by 10 percent and those at Orly airport by 30 percent because of the strikes. \u00a0About 14 percent of teachers nationwide were on strike, and about 8 percent of hospital workers. \u00a0The French government, which had long danced around the retirement age issue, has been increasingly bold in recent\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

Who’s to Blame for the Gulf Oil Spill?<\/a><\/p>\n

Bush’s petro-bias soiled the regulatory agency, but Obama’s lack of oversight hasn’t helped<\/p>\n

Confidence Game: Can the Markets Learn to Live With Fear?<\/a><\/p>\n

The markets are plunging again, but it has little to do with real-world economic conditions<\/p>\n

Gaza Aid Convoy Showdown Poses a New Challenge for Israel<\/a><\/p>\n

The Obama Administration has finally gotten the Israelis and Palestinians talking about peace, but they’re avoiding talking about Gaza<\/p>\n

Idol<\/em> Watch: Lee DeWyze Wins, Simon Cowell Departs <\/a><\/p>\n

Let’s get the unimportant stuff out of the way first: Lee DeWyze won American Idol<\/em>, and Crystal Bowersox lost.<\/p>\n

A Sestak Offer? Criminally Stupid, Not Criminal<\/a><\/p>\n

Why would the White House try to coax Joe Sestak out of the Senatorial race? Beats me<\/p>\n

Effort to plug well ‘proceeding as we planned’<\/a>
\nThe “top kill” is underway, success uncertain. BP engineers are pumping mud at a furious rate into the damaged blowout preventer that sits on the uncapped well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The hazardous-but-high-reward maneuver comes five weeks into the oil spill crisis amid an intensifyi…
\n(By Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post)<\/p>\n

Black death has just begun to take its toll on animals<\/a>
\nON BARATARIA BAY, LA. — In the Louisiana marsh, oil-coated pelicans flap their wings in a futile attempt to dry them. A shorebird repeatedly dunks its face in a puddle, unable to wash off. Lines of dead jellyfish float in the gulf, traces of oil visible in their clear “bells.”
\n(By Juliet Eilperin and David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post)<\/p>\n

Iraq exit will be on time, Biden says<\/a>
\nPresident Obama called Iraq his predecessor’s war of choice. Now it is his war to exit — and quickly.
\n(By Scott Wilson, The Washington Post)<\/p>\n

‘American Idol’ underdog Lee DeWyze steals the show in Simon’s swan song<\/a>
\nTexting tweener chicks and perimenopausal women, having not yet slaked their thirst for Super-Safe Rocker Boys, added Lee DeWyze to the list of “American Idol” winners Wednesday night, beating early front-runner Crystal Bowersox of the dreadlocks and comb microphone-stand\/bong.
\n(By Lisa de Moraes, The Washington Post)<\/p>\n

Pyongyang tests U.S. ‘patience’<\/a>
\nObama administration officials have dubbed their policy toward North Korea “strategic patience” — a resolve that Pyongyang has to make the first move to reengage and that it won’t be granted any concessions.
\n(By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post)<\/p>\n

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

Word of the Day for Thursday, May 27, 2010<\/em><\/h1>\n

waxing<\/strong> \\WAK-sing\\, verb<\/em>:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> To increase in extent, quantity, intensity or power.
\n2.<\/strong> (Of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon.
\n3.<\/strong> To grow or become.<\/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 State News\u00a0\u00a0 Suburban school funding threatened by failure […]<\/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-581785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581785","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=581785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581785\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}