Author Archive
by John Laesch, posted on Thursday, November 28th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
It is Thanksgiving and I can’t get over the conversation I had with Chris Lauzen last week over the topic of a living wage ordinance. Even though I was born and raised on the mission field in West Africa, I don’t think that a politician’s faith should matter, unless that politician makes it part of his or her campaign. Chris Lauzen has put his faith front and center in most of his political endeavors – his political views as one who professes very publicly to be Roman Catholic are fair game. And, if you read the press release linked above you will notice that Lauzen doesn’t mind criticizing the Pope when the Pope admonishes Republicans. Maybe Chris is more in tune with God than the Pope is?
This morning I read a recent speech by Pope Francis who condemned the idolatry of cash in capitalism and called for a society with people, not money, at its heart. “It is the consequence of a global choice, an economic system which leads to this tragedy; an economic system which has at its center an idol called money.”
It made me think that the phone conversation Chris and I had should be made public and I should let readers decide if they think Lauzen is a man of faith or another hypocrite.
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Tags: Chris Lauzen, economy, Fight for 15, Kane County, living wage, minimum wage, OUR Walmart, Pope Francis, poverty, religion, SEATAC, small business, Tom Weisner, Underemployment, unemployment, Walmart
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by John Laesch, posted on Saturday, November 9th, 2013 at 5:40 pm
Who will you vote for on Nov. 5, 2014 if you are given the choice between voting for a Republican (pick one) and a Republican (Paul Vallas)? Yep, Pat Quinn picked a Republican as his running mate, further alienating working people, minorities and women from the Democratic Party.
Four years ago, Vallas told host Jeff Berkowitz on the Public Affairs cable TV show that he’s now a Republican.
VALLAS: “I would take a Republican primary ballot.”
BERKOWITZ: “Do you think of yourself as a Republican?”
VALLAS: “I’m more of a Republican than a Democrat.”
BERKOWITZ: “If you run again for office you’d be running as a Republican?”
VALLAS: “I would, yes, yes.”
It gets better
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Tags: 2014 elections, Democrats, Governor, IL-Gov, Illinois, Lieutenant Governor, Pat Quinn, Paul Vallas, Republicans
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by John Laesch, 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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Tags: Bernie Sanders, chained cpi, dan biss, Dupage Coffeehouse, Elaine Nekritz, Illinois, Illinois General Assembly, legislation, Mike Madigan, pat herrmann, Pat Quinn, social security cuts, Tom Cross
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by John Laesch, 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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Tags: Algonquin IL, Aurora IL, Batavia IL, Burlington IL, charter schools, DeKalb County, DuPage County, education, Elgin IL, Fox Valley, Geneva IL, Illinois, K12 Inc, Kane County, Kendall County, Malta IL, Naperville IL, Oswego IL, Plainfield IL, Romeovill IL, St Charles IL, Sugar Grove IL, Sycamore IL, virtual charter, Wheaton IL, Will County, Yorkville IL
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by John Laesch, 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.
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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Tags: Bolingbrook IL, Bollingbrook Patch, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Teachers Union, CTU, d365u, economy, education, Illinois General Assembly, K12 Inc, Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice, Occupy movement, Occupy Wall Street, progress illinois, Romeoville IL, vince Gaddis
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by John Laesch, posted on Sunday, March 31st, 2013 at 7:29 pm
Reflections from Newark Community High School, March 31st 2013
Driving by I stopped to stare and remember…
The squeak of gym shoes on polished hardwood floors
Rolled jeans and clanking metal locker doors
My older brother and friends thinking they were cool
Sneaking a smoke behind the brick school
The first Apple IIe with green letters blinking
Learning code, tabbing, no clicking
My first psych paper questioned corporate advertising in school
Sociology, I learned I was part of a class – bottom of the economic pool
A solitary study hall in the librarians’ backroom, studying or sleeping
The Librarian knew no 17-year old should be full-time working
I know she was proud when I got my ACT scores and acceptance letter
Teachers dug deep, earning their scholarship – a shot at something better…
Now I know why I spend so much time fighting for this beautiful relic
Opportunities, our schools – keep them strong, keep them public
Tags: Newark Community High School
Posted in The Union List | Comments Off on A Poor Kid Deserves Opportunity Too (Poem)
by John Laesch, 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
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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Tags: Bob Pritchard, charter schools, Chicago IL, Chicago Public Schools, Cook County, CPS, education, HB 5825, Heather Steans, Illinois, Illinois Charter Commission, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois State Board of Education, Jean Pierce, K12 Inc, legislation, Leo Smith, Linda Chapa LaVia, Mike Madigan, Monique Davis, Rahm Emanuel, SB 79, school closings, Stand for Children
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by John Laesch, posted on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 at 5:52 pm
K12 Inc., a for-profit virtual learning company is pitching their services to 18 Illinois school districts, attempting to exploit Illinois’ weak charter laws. K12 Inc. executives have handled presentations at 16 of the 18 schools in which they have submitted an application for a virtual charter. Geneva’s school district 304 held a hearing on March 11th and the applicant did not show. The final hearing is in District 365U (Romeoville and Bolingbrook).
Please join Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice (RSVP via this link) at the final public hearing to express your opposition to K12 Inc’s taxpayer rip-off scheme. This Wall Street company is trying to rip-off taxpayers in the amount of $8,000 per customer (students that they sign up).
When: Wednesday, March 27th @ 6:30 p.m.
Where: Valley View D365U School Service Center (755 Dalhart Ave., Romeoville, IL 60446)
The first vote for or against K12’s virtual charter scam is going to be held in East Aurora, District 131. Please join NIJwJ (RSVP via this link) and encourage the board to vote “no.”
When: April 1st @ 7:00 p.m.
Where: School Services Center (417 Fifth St., Aurora, IL 60505)
Tags: Aurora IL, Batavia IL, Bolingbrook IL, Carpentersville IL, charter schools, education, Elgin IL, Geneva IL, Illinois, Illinois Charter Commission, K12 Inc, Kane County, Kendall County, Oswego IL, Randall Greenway, Romeoville IL, School Privatization, Sharnell Jackson, St Charles IL, Yorkville IL
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by John Laesch, posted on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 at 7:33 am
When the K12 Inc. executive stammered, Dean Fisher, a Yorkville School Board member repeated his question, “defend your profit model.” The questions came after the K12 Inc. corporate executive had made a 20-minute presentation to the board and administrators of Yorkville District 115.
The real world questions kept coming like a series of body blows to K12 Inc., the for-profit virtual education provider that has come under fire nationally for low test scores, scandals, lawsuits and cover-ups.
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Tags: Aurora IL, Batavia IL, Carpentersville IL, district 115, district 204, Elgin IL, Geneva IL, K12 Inc, Naperville IL, Oswego IL, Randall Greenway, Sharnell Jackson, St Charles IL, Yorkville IL
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by John Laesch, 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.
Tags: charter school, education, Fox Valley, Illinois, K12 Inc, Linda Chapa LaVia, Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice, ron packard, virtual charter
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