Posts tagged ‘Fox Valley’

When will the 18 school districts vote for or against K12 Inc.?

by , posted on Sunday, April 7th, 2013 at 8:03 am

Pam Verner took the time to contact all 18 school districts and ask when the school board planned on voting for or against the K12 Inc. application for a charter school.  Thanks to Heather Steans, Stand for Children, and wealthy charter school backers, the law (SB79) requires school districts to vote 30 days after the public hearing.

While the public comments section is officially closed, we are still encouraging people to attend these hearings, add your comments of opposition at the beginning of the meeting and have your voice heard.  Here are the dates that school districts said they anticipated a vote:

April 8, Monday

Naperville District 204 @ 7:00 p.m.
Crouse Education Center
780 Shoreline Drive
Aurora, IL 60504
630-375-3000

West Aurora District 129  @ 6:00 P.M.
West Aurora High School
1201 West New York Street
Aurora, IL 60506
– Meeting will be held in the Library.
Closed session first, then “may” vote on K12.

Geneva District 304 @ 7:00 P.M.
Williamsburg Elementary School
1812 Williamsburg Avenue
Geneva, IL 60134
630-463-3010

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Progress: Chance for Moratorium on K12 Virtual Charter

by , posted on Sunday, March 17th, 2013 at 8:26 am

We will have some exciting news at the informational meeting on K12 Inc. that is scheduled for Sunday, March 17th from 2-5 p.m. at the Geneva First Congregational Church (321 Hamilton St.) in Geneva, IL!

In addition to hearing from Tennessee State Representative, Gloria Johnson about how k12 Inc. has hurt students and taxpayers in her home state of Tennessee, we will have a charter school expert by the name of Sharon Teefey to share knowledge on Illinois’ Charter Commission.

Teefey will be reporting that State Rep. Chapa LaVia (IL 83rd District) intends to initiate an amendment to address virtual charter schools. According to an e-mail from Rep. Chapa Lavia, she intends to file the following amendment in the house when they return to session.

(l) From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2016 there shall be a moratorium on the expansion of charter schools with virtual schooling components which includes but is not limited to full-time online virtual schools and virtual blended schools. For the purposes of this subsection (l) virtual blended schools means a virtual school with in-person components.

This moratorium will give Illinois parents and lawmakers more time to study K12 Inc. and their questionable track record of performance.

An amendment is progress, and it shows that organizing works and we need to keep doing more of it!

If you want to support the fight against K12 Inc. and want to see this fight continue, please consider supporting NIJwJ financially.

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Illinois General Assembly passes civil unions

by , posted on Saturday, December 4th, 2010 at 12:09 pm

While the Illinois General Assembly has yet to create jobs, pass a balanced budget, or find a way to fund the $80B pension liability, they did a very courageous thing during veto session by passing a civil unions bill.  This strikes me as one of the biggest “change” votes taken by the ILGA and perhaps the biggest act of courage in my memory. It was a positive step forward for residents of Illinois as we seek to join other states who view equality as a centerpiece for social and economic justice.

In the 21st century, I find it hard to believe that there are still people in Springfield and Washington who honestly feel that some in our society should be treated like second class citizens in the eyes of the government. But, some still voted “nay.” You can see the entire Senate vote here. You can see the entire House vote here.

If you agree that this is a good step for Illinois, please call or write members in the Fox Valley to let express appreciation or disappointment.  Altough he has delayed signing the bill until 2011, it is expected that Governor Quinn (312-814-2121 / Online Contact Form) will sign the bill.  It probably does not hurt to send the Governor a note to thank him for his support of equality.  See list of Fox Valley Representatives below.

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I live in affluent, prosperous St Charles

by , posted on Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 7:15 am

I’m well aware that people from throughout the area tend to view St Charles, and the Tri-Cities (Batavia, Geneva, St Charles) in general, as affluent and prosperous. And so they are, in general and comparatively to Elgin and Aurora, to our north and south, and to the more rural communities to our west, where the city services and infrastructure are not so built-up.

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Rats Found at Buona Beef in Montgomery

by , posted on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 7:19 pm

I stopped by the Montgomery Menard’s (I boycott anti-union Home Depot for their CEO’s effort to kill the Employee Free Choice Act) to pick up some drill bits last week and saw a picket in front of a Buona Beef that was going up in front of the Menard’s.

As I walked over to the

picket line, I found several Fox Valley labor leaders and friends holding signs in front of about 10 inflatable rats.  When I asked what was going on, my friends informed me that the owner of Buona Beef was out for an inspection and they were sending a message. 

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