On Labor Day, the Chicago Teachers Union held its protest in preparation for a strike that is set to begin on Sept. 10, unless negotiations with Chicago Public Schools result in a contract.The protest served two functions: first, as a sort of threat display designed to demonstrate to CPS officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel that...
The spectacle of government union members booing the best friend they ever had off the stage Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair made for entertaining video. Gov. Quinn may not have liked the boos, but he certainly understands his starring role in this fiction of a drama. Here’s the truth: the pension proposals under consideration in Springfield...
by Michael Wille Yesterday, Gov. Scott Walker signed the “Read to Lead” legislation into law aimed at improving education for Wisconsin students. Starting in Kindergarten, children will now be tested on literacy to set a benchmark of their skills and better understand what interventions are required to ensure reading capabilities are strengthened by third grade. In addition...
by Michael Wille Earlier this year, the Wisconsin legislature passed the Budget Repair Act, a bill that, among other things, limits the collective bargaining rights of Wisconsin teachers. In the most contentious battle regarding public sector unions the state has ever seen, hundreds of thousands of people descended upon the statehouse to protest the actions...
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.