Illinois Senate passes bill requiring kindergarten for all 5-year-olds

By Brad Weisenstein

04/17/2019

Lowering the compulsory age to attend school from 6 to 5 would tie Illinois for the lowest compulsory attendance age in the nation.

TAGS: compulsory school attendance, education, Kimberly Lightford, unfunded mandates

5 things you should know about putting students ahead of administration

By Mailee Smith

04/10/2019

The Illinois House of Representatives passed the Classrooms First Act by a unanimous vote March 28. If it becomes law, students, teachers and taxpayers will benefit.

TAGS: consolidation, education, local government consolidation, property taxes, school district consolidation, taxes

Pritzker budget slashes school choice scholarships for low-income students

By Vincent Caruso

02/21/2019

The Pritzker administration’s first budget proposes phasing out a school choice program for disadvantaged families. Low-income families loved the program. Public teachers’ unions decried it.

TAGS: budget, education, Invest in Kids, JB Pritzker, school choice

Teachers’ unions spend millions on hotels, airlines and catering – but don’t tell members why

By Mailee Smith

02/01/2019

NEA and AFT racked up millions of dollars in travel and catering expenses. Their reporting documents don’t always explain the intent, including why a cruise line received union money.

Fraction of Illinois teachers’ union dues spent representing members

By Mailee Smith

02/01/2019

Recent federal filings by Illinois teachers’ unions show as little as 13 cents of every dollar was spent for “representational activities” – which is supposed to be the central purpose of the unions.

Teachers’ union dues flow to Chicago, but rest of Illinois gets little

By Mailee Smith

02/01/2019

Illinois public school educators are charged hundreds of dollars in union dues each year – but the state and national affiliates don’t send much money back to the locals. Most money flows to Chicago, or out of state.

Highest paid superintendent in Illinois history fired for ‘pay padding’

By Vincent Caruso

11/01/2018

Following an investigation into allegations of “pay padding,” among other offenses, Calumet school district board members dismissed Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent less than a week before retirement.

TAGS: Calumet School District 155, education, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, troy paraday

Cursive mandate greets Illinois elementary school students this fall

By Vincent Caruso

08/21/2018

Lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto of a 2017 bill mandating cursive instruction in all public elementary schools in Illinois. That measure becomes law this year.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, Chris Welch, ISFRC: Illinois School Funding Reform Commission, unfunded mandates

Illinois families catching crossfire in scholarship fight

By Austin Berg

05/17/2018

Despite that booming demand, there are political efforts afoot to crush the scholarship program.

TAGS: education, Invest in Kids, school choice, tax credits

Lawmakers seek to dismantle school-choice scholarship program for low-income students

By Vincent Caruso

04/25/2018

A bill in the Illinois Senate could axe the state’s first-ever tax credit scholarship program.

TAGS: education, Invest in Kids, opportunity scholarships, school choice