In February, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn proposed an unbalanced budget that relied on hefty tax increases and $8.75 billion in borrowing – not to mention, increased overall state spending by $1.7 billion. If followed, Gov. Quinn’s budget will prompt Illinois to run recurring, annual deficits of nearly $3 billion by the year 2016. By the...
Budget Solutions 2012 is an alternative budget that does not rely on the states recent tax hikes as a revenue source, does not include borrowing and has positive cash flow for fiscal year 2012.
Several significant events over the past year have raised awareness for the education reform effort called the charter school movement.
by Collin Hitt The Illinois State Board of Education has announced that it will release school report cards today, showing whether schools are doing better or worse at meeting state and federal academic standards. The decision to release information on a Friday afternoon heading into a weekend when everyone is going to be focused on...
by Collin Hitt Last Monday, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to Illinois school districts urging them to frantically spend newly available federal stimulus funds totaling more than $400 million, before the end of November. Highly unusual, however, was that the letter and the governor’s instructions were apparently written and circulated...
by Kate Piercy According to the State Journal-Register, five key employees of the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) have combined to spend more than $300,000 on travel since fiscal year 2005. In addition, the agency has spent $1.2 million to $1.32 million on travel overall in each of those years. Apparently, a good portion of...
By Collin Hitt
05/20/2010
Throughout Illinois, a unique kind of public school is emerging: charter schools. Begun by non-profit groups, teams of teachers, or even universities, these new schools are trying innovative approaches to public education. Most importantly, they are creating additional choices for families, often in communities where public education has failed to meet the needs of parents...
In 2008, the Illinois State Board of Education spent $21.8 million on 335 consultants.
By Collin Hitt
05/02/2010
SB2494 has been endorsed by newspapers across the state. Learn the facts about SB2494 below Does your legislator support SB2494? Find out more here. Senate Bill 2494 creates a pilot program to give parents in Chicago’s lowest-performing and most severely overcrowded schools educational options. Each family enrolled in one of these schools will be offered a school...
Senate Bill 2494 creates a pilot program to give parents in Chicago
