K12 Inc. Attempting to Establish Virtual Charter Scam in Fox Valley

by , posted on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 at 7:26 am

New rules allow an Illinois charter school to apply for a charter from a local school district and appeal any rejections to the Illinois Charter Commission.

As of this blog post writing, I am aware that K12 Inc. has applied for charter schools in 18 school districts in the Chicago Suburbs.  Please plan on attending these hearings (listed below) to ask the board to reject this scandalous business.

In addressing local school boards we need to let them know that K12 Inc. is a business that pays their CEO $3.9 million dollars per year and offers returns to investors. It is not a school. Our tax money is being diverted from the classroom to the pockets of the wealthy. K12 Inc. may perform well on Wall Street, but they don’t perform well in the virtual learning environment. And, according to Channel 5 News in Tennessee, when K12 Inc. fails to perform, they instruct teachers to “delete grades.”

These are the public hearings that we know about:

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Austerity Chicken

by , posted on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013 at 6:23 pm

In the maneuvering to affix blame for the mess that is sequestration, the Republicans in Congress would have us believe this was all the President’s idea to begin with,

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while the Obama Administration would have us believe that it was a deal that was never supposed to take effect. Not really. And yet, both sides voted for it. Both sides agreed to play this dangerous game.

And that’s the problem. The debate has never been a question of whether or not we should even be pursuing a politics of austerity in the first place, it has merely been a question of the precise balance of pain that was to be exacted upon those less fortunate than those who will determine our fate.

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Aurora TIFs – A New Vision for Our City

by , posted on Monday, February 11th, 2013 at 8:00 am

I hope that readers take the time to attend the Aurora City Council meeting on Feb. 12th at 6:00 p.m. in the city council chambers, 2nd floor of city hall, 44 E. Downer Place, Aurora, IL. If you want to address the City Council should notify the City Clerk’s Office at (630) 256-3070

Being discussed and voted on at this meeting is the appropriations of $750,000 of taxpayer money to fund a development project in downtown Aurora.

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The project was written about by Stephanie Lulay of the Aurora Beacon News. For reading with much more inflammatory political rhetoric you may wish to consult the Aurora Openline blog.

To read the details of the resolution, you can read the downloadable agreement that was already approved by the Aurora Finance Committee.

This latest TIF deal has me asking lots of questions about our city’s TIF policy. This one certainly has “politically connected insiders” written all over it, but other developers and “businessmen” have taken the city for a ride in the past.

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Jakobsson and Chapa LaVia Sponsor Graduated Income Tax

by , posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2013 at 11:14 pm

Updated Monday, January 28th, 2013 at 8:37 pm

On Jan 9th, State Representative Naomi Jakobsson filed a bill that would give Illinois voters an opportunity to amend Illinois’ tax code and pave the way for a graduated income tax.

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On Jan 23rd, State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia added her name as a co-sponsor to the bill.

The bill, HJRCA 0002 would amend the Illinois Constitution and allow for a graduated income tax. Please take a minute to sign our petition to Representatives Jakobsson and Chapa LaVia.

The language of the bill reads:

Proposes to amend the Revenue Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that individual income taxes may be at a graduated or a non-graduated rate. Provides that any such tax imposed on corporations shall be at a non-graduated rate, not to exceed the average of the lowest and highest individual rates by more than a ratio of 8 to 5. Effective upon being declared adopted.

If the bill passes the general assembly, Illinois voters would have to approve of the measure by voting “yes” on the November 2014 ballot before it went into law.

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Open letter to the editor on Reeder and pensions

by , posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013 at 9:44 pm

Dear Editor,

Scott Reeder, in a recent “special” to the Rockford Register Star, wrote about what the State of Illinois needs to do on State pensions.

As a corporate journalist Reeder wrote in boilerplate fashion expressing the wishes of the money hogs called the 2%. Reeder’s article was, however, wrong. It was wrong in it’s statements, it’s slant and it’s conclusion.

Reeder is doing the

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“whining” actually. Reeder whines about working people getting a fair retirement pension. Reeder wants that pension money going into the already bulging pockets of the wealthy. I am sure Reeder is looking forward to a handsome pension from his corporate bosses.

Reeder’s argument comes down to blaming teachers for working, for paying into an agreed upon pension system and then fighting to keep what is rightfully theirs.

Reeder calls that “whining”.

I call it standing up for yourself.

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Aurora Pension Discussion – Videos and Bios

by , posted on Monday, January 7th, 2013 at 4:15 pm

A special thanks to our distinguished panelists (list and video links below), State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia, East Aurora High School and all of the volunteers who helped make one of the first “democratic pension discussions” a success.

Other blog and press coverage of the event can be found at FredKlonsky.com, Tim Furman’s blog, The Daily Herald, and The Aurora Beacon News (Suntimes affiliate).

Below the fold are all of the videos from the event.  We are also asking people to sign a petition that pushes for new funding proposals to fund pensions, create jobs and restore Illinois’ fiscal health.  These proposals are outlined by economists in the videos below.

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