It’s easy to become cynical about politics. Money matters too much. Ideas don’t matter enough. But, in politics, election outcomes matter most. So, the next time you hear someone say, “Even though Candidate A is out to ruin my profession, Candidate B doesn’t excite me enough to get involved,” remember Wisconsin. APPLETON — Hours after Gov. [...]
Sunday, February 6, is the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States. While much of the discussion surrounding the Reagan Centennial is focused on his eight years as President, we think a look at his first elective office, Governor of California, is of interest. Long before Iran-Contra, the breaking of the [...]
“Don’t applaud. You’ll only encourage him.” We’ve heard that more than a few times and have come to understand why people say it. Nevertheless, we have persevered. Sometimes, the results have been surprising. Such was the case this week when the organization to which IEA communications professionals belong, the NEA Public Relations Council of the [...]
Two years ago this month, we started a blog called Newswatch. We thought we’d come up with a better name eventually, but never got around to it. There was just too much going on. Through hundreds of postings over the last two years, we’ve sought to inform and entertain IEA members. Based on the feedback, [...]
The 96th Illinois General Assembly has provided few thrills over the last two years but it might have a very exciting finish. Between now and midnight Tuesday, the last scheduled day for the 96th, some memorable votes will be taken on legislation that would significantly impact all Illinoisans. The suspense is almost more than we [...]
Unions representing more than 230,000 Illinois education employees went on offense this week in Springfield, presenting a teacher developed, research-based proposal for education reform designed to improve teaching and learning in classrooms statewide. The proposal, Accountability for All, was put forth Monday by the presidents of IEA, the Illinois federation of Teachers and the Chicago [...]
As the second semester gets underway in schools statewide, it has never been more important that education employees stick together and remember what they stand for. Here’s a simple, yet inspired suggestion from teacher Chris Janotta. You can make a clear statement about your feelings about public education on Tuesday, January 4, by simply wearing [...]
The state’s largest education employees union wants the public to understand that, far from being a “blocker,” the Illinois Education Association is a leading force for school improvement. The new IEA radio ad, the second of the new campaign, went on the air statewide on January 2. Like its predecessor, the new ad features Annice [...]
If you missed the IEA-sponsored economic summit, you can still catch all the informative presentations. The summit featured renowned economic experts discussing ways Illinois might be able to pull itself out of the its budget crisis. Just click on any of the experts below to see what they had to say. Fred Giertz, creator of the Illinois Flash Index [...]
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan isn’t known for being passionate about public schools. The fact he created a House committee on education reform, without anyone asking him to do so, means the reform discussion is deeply political, very serious and certain to lead to the introduction of legislation. There could be votes on reform proposals taken [...]
Illinois Education Association is an association of more than 130,000 members composed of Illinois elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers.