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Chicago Tribune: Illinois high schools test different, often controversial, approach to education
For years, west suburban Proviso East High School was known for dismal test scores and struggling students with elusive college dreams.
It badly needed an academic overhaul — though the challenge would be formidable.
Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel moving to remedy defect in his new high school graduation requirement
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is moving to remedy a key defect of his new graduation requirement for students at Chicago Public high schools: a shortage of guidance counselors to help students develop the required “plan for post-secondary success.”
Addressing students at Monday’s Mikva Challenge MLK Youth Summit, Emanuel said the key to alleviating that shortage lies in forging an even stronger partnership between CPS and the City Colleges of Chicago.
Champaign News-Gazette: Change worth agreeing to
The Illinois Legislature should agree to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto related to private-school scholarships.
Democrats once again are denouncing Illinois’ governor, this time for his amendatory veto of a so-called “trailer bill” that corrects some unintended errors last year’s groundbreaking legislation that rewrote the state’s school-funding formula.
Rauner vetoed the measure because the Legislature’s corrections excluded an unspecified number of private schools, many in Chicago, from participating in the Invest in Kids Scholarship program for needy students.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois' higher education leaders at odds over proposed budget
Seeking state money for higher education in Illinois used to be somewhat routine.
Colleges, universities and education agencies sent wish lists to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, whose members crunched the numbers and presented them to state legislators. Lawmakers, in turn, provided the funds — usually a sizable chunk of income for the state’s public institutions.
Rockford Register-Star: Local government bodies update harassment policies after new Illinois law
Amid an onslaught of scandals that brought down prominent public figures, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Nov. 16 signed into law legislation to strengthen existing state laws on workplace sexual harassment.
The amendment gave local units of government two months to do the same.
Daily Herald: Elk Grove finishes $6.6 million public works upgrade
Elk Grove Village has finished a $6.6 million project to renovate its public works facility.
The village held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week marking the completion of upgrades to the facility at 1635 Biesterfield Road.
Daily Herald: Study: Elmhurst can support $25 million performing arts center
Elmhurst and the surrounding area can support a 50,000-square-foot performing arts and conference center with an estimated $25 million price tag, according to a study released this week by the not-for-profit Elmhurst Centre for the Performing Arts.
Conducted by Chicago-based Johnson Consulting, the study suggests the proposed downtown building could house two theaters: a roughly 550-seat main facility with an orchestra pit and control room and a 130-seat “black box” convertible space.
Belleville News-Democrat: Corruption probe of new local leaders by old political rivals fails the smell test
When a police officer is involved in a shooting, the officer is put on a desk assignment and an outside agency is tasked with investigating the shooting. That arm’s-length, independent look ensures there is no favoritism and that the facts lead where the facts lead.
But in Madison County there is too much smoke to know whether we are seeing an independent investigation of something corrupt or whether a partisan witchhunt is underway as decades of Democratic domination continue their death throes.