Posts tagged ‘Illinois General Assembly’

Your Rights Are About to be Taken Away Again!

by , posted on Sunday, October 13th, 2013 at 12:06 pm

Just when I thought Illinois politics couldn’t get any worse than what it has been, it did. I am referring to an upcoming vote against Governor Quinn’s veto on HB 2454 which prevents citizens from petitioning voters to get advisory questions on a ballot in the future.

Last summer, there were 14 petitioners who spent 6 months collecting signatures from Kane County voters for an advisory question for the 2012 November ballot. That collection took place at the Gail Bordon and St. Charles Libraries, faires, festivals, Geneva’s French Market and the DMV in Elgin. The question asked if the voters thought the Constitution should be amended to limit all the money that is now part of our political process….thanks to the Supreme Court’s disastrous 2010 decision on Citizens United. Last November, it was ultimately passed by 74% of ALL Kane County voters who said they wanted to get rid of all this unlimited, secret and unregulated money that continues to pour into our elections and used to pay off politicians for their yes vote for favors. I believe this is still called bribery and it is the number one reason citizens have such low opinions of those we elect to speak on our behalf. The truth is, you just don’t have enough money to influence the legislators.

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When did it become acceptable to take money from old people?

by , posted on Monday, April 8th, 2013 at 7:13 pm

I first heard Pat Herrmann, a retired art teacher from Wheaton, Illinois, ask the question, “when did it become acceptable to take money from old people?” during a public pension discussion hosted by the DuPage Coffeehouse.  Herrmann is a deep-thinking activist.  The multiple messages on her signs reflect her ability to conduct careful research and see the bigger picture.  Her question about taking money from old people reflects her ability to see the human impact; something lawmakers don’t see.

As the Illinois General Assembly debates how much money they will strip from Illinois teachers’ pensions and President Obama puts deep cuts to Social Security on the table, I was reminded of Hermman’s important question.  If you have not signed the petition to tell President Obama to take Social Security cuts off of the table, now would be a good time to do it by following this link.

Of course those reaching into the pockets of old people don’t want to talk about how this will impact living, breathing human beings.  They want to talk about numbers, budgets and other inhuman things.  Consider Tom Cross’s recent letter to the Chicago Tribune that makes this all sound like a tragic math problem.  Cross, after 20 years in Springfield, takes no responsibility for the state’s past 40+ years of delinquency.  I am not giving Democrats a free pass on this either.  The primary drivers of pension reform in Springfield are Mike Madigan, Pat Quinn, Elaine Nekritz and Dan Biss (all Democrats).  All of them, Democrats and Republicans, are singing from the same sheet of music.  Watch the video of Bernie Sanders below the fold.

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K12 Inc., “The Dog Ate My Data” in Valley View Too

by , posted on Monday, April 1st, 2013 at 10:55 am

After making 16 similar presentations at public hearings over the course of 10 days in the Fox Valley, and receiving hundreds of tough questions, K12 Inc. finally showed up with a panel of executives.  I counted seven K12 Inc. executives, one attorney, and three board members from Virtual Learning Solutions.  They were all nicely dressed in business attire, their PowerPoint had new graphics, and their data was still non existent. K12 Inc. had 10 days to do their homework and once again failed to produce any substance.

Photo from D356U K12 Inc. Public Hearing - March 27, 2013

For almost three hours the D365U School Board kept pushing for data, substance and explanations about K12’s questionable history of grade doctoring, cover-ups, lawsuits, scandals and investor settlements.  The board was phenomenal, and Dr. Vince Gaddis (NIJwJ Steering Committee member) drove it home in a “worth the watch 12 speech” below the fold.

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Money Grab: Heather Steans, Chicago School Closings and K12 Inc.

by , posted on Friday, March 29th, 2013 at 9:16 pm

State Senator Heather Steans and Stand for Children are ultimately responsible for Chicago school closings and the recent increase of charter school applications like the 18-district virtual charter initiated by K12 Inc. in the Chicago suburbs.

Rahm Emanuel, Barb Byrd-Bennett, Heather Steans, Jonah Edelman

Rahm Emanuel, Barb Byrd-Bennett, Heather Steans, Jonah Edelman

I started researching SB79 and HB 5825, the legislation that created and gave the Illinois Charter Commission super “override powers” and autonomy from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).  If SB7 gave education activists concern, SB79 and HB 5825 should have started a five-alarm fire.

Because of SB79, K12 Inc., a for-profit, Wall Street-traded company applied for a virtual charter scam in 18 suburban school districts.  Why are they doing this?  K12 Inc. anticipates that the state charter commission will override local rejections of their taxpayer rip-off scheme and approve the charter despite overwhelming local opposition.

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K12 Inc., A Wall-Street Traded Charter Corporation Out To Strip Illinois Taxpayers of Money

by , posted on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 at 9:03 pm

K12 Incorporated, a for-profit charter business has a track record of poor academic performance, misleading investors, and deliberately telling teachers to “delete bad grades.” Now, as many Illinois school districts are struggling with shrinking budgets, K12 Inc wants to milk our schools of $8,000 – $11,000 per pupil with a new, “virtual charter school.” In my first piece on this subject, I listed the public hearings for all 18 schools that K12 Virtual Learning Solutions is targeting in the Chicago Suburbs.

K12 Inc. has a Record of Poor Academic Performance and Deletes Grades to Boost Scores.

When I learned that K12 Inc was trying to get their hand in the pocket books of Aurora taxpayers, I started researching the company. One story by investigative reporter, Phil Williams, with Tennessee Channel 5 News exposes an e-mail from the Tennessee Virtual Academy’s vice principal to middle school teachers titled, “important.” The e-mail reads:

“After … looking at so many failing grades, we need to make some changes before the holidays,” the email begins.

Among the changes: Each teacher “needs to take out the October and September progress [reports]; delete it so that all that is showing is November progress.”

“Does it talk about we need to make changes in curriculum? Does it talk about we need to make changes in our teaching strategy? No,” Rep. Johnson observed. “Those changes we need to make are deleting grades from the computer system.”

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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.

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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NIJWJ Forum: Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia and Rep. Elaine Nekritz

by , posted on Monday, January 7th, 2013 at 12:16 am

from Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice

Illinois State Representatives Linda Chapa LaVia and Elaine Nekritz address the Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice forum, “Funding Strong Schools and Fair Pensions,” East Aurora High School, Aurora, Illinois, January 2, 2013.

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NIJWJ Forum: Maria Owens “Pension History 101”

by , posted on Monday, January 7th, 2013 at 12:13 am

from Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice

Retired teacher Maria Owens addresses the Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice forum, “Funding Strong Schools and Fair Pensions”, East Aurora High School, Aurora, Illinois, January 2, 2013.

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NIJWJ Forum: Fred Klonsky, “The Politics of Pension Reform”

by , posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2013 at 7:21 pm

from Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice

Retired teacher Fred Klonsky address on “The Politics of Pension Reform,” at the Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice forum “Funding Strong Schools and Fair Pensions”, East Aurora High School, Aurora, Illinois, January 2nd, 2013.

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PDA IL: John Laesch on austerity measures in Illinois

by , posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at 9:51 am

from PDA-IL

John Laesch of Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice (NIJWJ.org) speaks about austerity measures in Illinois.

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