Posts tagged ‘Vincent Gaddis’

Two January Events Focus on Charter Proliferation/Privatization

by , posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 at 3:16 pm

In Chicago Rahm Emanuel has closed 50 “underutilized” public schools and is rapidly replacing them with charter schools.  The unelected board of education (CPS) will consider 21 total charter applications on January 22nd.

Additionally, a stacked, special “charter school funding task force” put together by Springfield lawmakers and led by State Rep., Dan Burke, will come out with their “findings” prior to the general assembly returning to session (Jan 28th).  We expect that Dan Burke will be recommending more money for charter schools – big surprise (possibly at a Jan 13th task force meeting).  And, what a waste considering that the “too broke to pay the bills and pensioners” general assembly gave UNO (in Dan Burke’s district) $98 million dollars that was wasted on scandal-riddled construction projects.

The hedge fund managers and their politicians (Rahm, Rauner, Madigan, etc.) are not going to stop their privatization assault on public schools so we need to push back. You can help by attending and bringing a friend to either the Jan 14th event in Chicago, or the second event in the suburbs scheduled on Jan 23rd.

Event details and flyers are below the fold. (more…)

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NIJWJ Forum: Dr. Vincent Gaddis, “The Impact of Cost Shift on Aurora Students”

by , posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2013 at 7:33 pm

from Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice

Dr. Vincent Gaddis address on “The Impact of Cost Shift on Aurora Students” 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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“Corporations are People, Teachers are Not. Fix That!”

by , posted on Sunday, May 20th, 2012 at 7:29 pm

A five-year-old girl sitting in a wagon held a sign that read, “How can this be my fault? Tax the 1%”

Her mother, Dr. Annette DeAngelis-Marshall, who came to the teachers’ rally in Naperville this past Thursday,

May 17th, was pulling her. Dr. DeAngelis-Marshall is a special education teacher consultant and advocate who came to the rally as a citizen, taxpayer, and teacher to demand attention from politicians enacting pension changes for Illinois teachers.

“I’ve tried to speak to Darlene Senger but she doesn’t listen to me.” DeAngelis-Marshall said.

Senger is on Governor Pat Quinn’s task force charged with the job of changing the teachers’ pension system. Frustration with Senger was echoed by dozens of other people attending the rally. Approximately two hundred people were there. While most were teachers, some were union workers, college students, Occupiers, retired teachers, and just plain parents. All were taxpayers with a stake in good public schools.

(more…)

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Occupy Aurora action, January 21, 2012

by , posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 at 12:23 pm

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Is Water a Human Right or a Commodity?

by , posted on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 11:23 pm

Two days ago I arranged to have dinner with Dr. Vincent Gaddis, a professor at Benedictine University and resident of Aurora, IL.  Admittedly, the opportunity allowed me to procrastinate

on my next health care post here at the Progressive Fox, but I got a little more than that out of the experience.  I had met Dr. Gaddis at several of his speaking engagements covering topics from healthcare to his latest speech, “The United States: Leading Jailer of the World.”

We started off talking about the idea that corporations are buying more and more of our state-owned assets; from prisons to parking meters.  Then, for some reason we started talking about water, a life necessity, being sold as a commodity. 

There is talk in Chicago suggesting that Mayor Daley wants to privatize Chicago’s water system.  I told him about Citizen Action to Protect Our Water, a growing grassroots group in Chicago that seeks to stop any water privatization efforts, and he shared some disturbing news with me.  Gaddis said that T. Boone Pickens, who has been purchasing water rights in southern parts of America, now owns water rights to over 65 billion gallons of water!  I did a quick Google search and found this article on the topic.

Before we parted ways, Dr. Gaddis invited me to attend a symposium on the topic featuring Fred Pearce, author of the book, When the Rivers Run Dry: Water, the Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century.  I think it will be a fascinating conversation and I hope all who read this can attend.  The event is free and open to the public. Click on the flyer reproduced above for more details.

Krasna Student Center, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
Friday, April 9th, 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

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