Capitol Report for August 8, 2010
August 6, 2010It’s almost the end of the summer and while the state legislature is not in session, education issues are not taking a break. Big things are happening at the national level with the education jobs bill pending before the , a bill... More
Capitol Report for July 21, 2010
July 21, 2010ISBE budget At the June 24 board meeting, the Illinois State Board of Education passed a recommended budget for FY 2011. The combination of bills this year gives us flat funding for general student aid of $4.6 billion and for mandated... More
Capitol Report for May 28, 2010
May 28, 2010Double Overtime! It appears that the General Assembly may be trying to take a page out of the Chicago Blackhawks playbook. While the Hawks were able to claim victory in overtime in a critical game last week, it’s unclear whether... More
Capitol Report for May 12, 2010
May 12, 2010What did they expect? When the week began, there was little to no talk about the budget or what the final product might look like. That probably should have been a telltale sign that the General Assembly was headed for overtime. In... More
Capitol Report for April 30, 2010
April 30, 2010The Capitol Buzz… The discussion has begun to shift to adjournment and what is going to be done to address the budget crisis. While one might expect the potential list of solutions to include substantial revenue, most of the options... More
Capitol Report for April 23, 2010
April 23, 2010Time to engage! With less than a month left for the scheduled legislative session, it is clear that the focus of the General Assembly has been public education. And I don’t mean in a loving and supportive way. From the onset, we... More
Capitol Report for April 16, 2010
April 16, 2010Capitol Buzz… The deed is done. On Wednesday, the Governor signed into law SB 1946 (Public Act 96-0889), the most draconian pension revision bill in the country. While the bill’s passage was applauded by the Governor and the... More
Capitol Report for March 26, 2010
March 26, 2010A week never to forget Where do we begin? Let’s start by defining the conditions we faced at the Capitol. The dictionary defines a tsunami as a very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption. And... More
Capitol Report for March 12, 2010
March 12, 2010The Capitol Buzz… On Wednesday, the Governor delivered his much anticipated budget address. We all knew the numbers would be abysmal in terms of the challenges that the state faces and Gov. Pat Quinn stated them early on in... More
Capitol Report for March 5, 2010
March 5, 2010The Capitol Buzz… Off to the races! Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education named the 16 finalists in the first round of its “Race to the Top” competition, which will deliver $4.35 billion in school reform grants... More
