News & Announcements

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called for reforms to teacher compensation and evaluation systems during a town hall meeting at the NEA Annual Meeting today, saying good teachers are essential to the success of every American child. [more]

Just as Gov. Pat Quinn threatened to do Tuesday in a rare, unscheduled address to a joint session of the General Assembly, today he vetoed SB 1197. The state of Illinois is now essentially operating without a budget meaning it cannot legally pay bills or extend services incurred after June 30.  The money to pay state workers will run out within a few weeks.  [more]

July 1 is the first day of the new fiscal year and the only budget to be approved by both Illinois legislative chambers is the “Doomsday” budget.  This plan would cut state spending in half, resulting in thousands of layoffs and tens of thousands of Illinois citizens seeing the state services they rely upon reduced or eliminated.  
 
Governor Quinn on Tuesday announced he would veto the “Doomsday” budget.   Should the governor carry out his veto threat, unless the veto is overridden, money to pay state workers would run out within a few weeks.  [more]

A milder version of a pension obligation bond, called a “pension note”, has surfaced as an alternative funding source for half of the $4 billion the state owes the pension systems for the upcoming fiscal year.  A pension note will allow the systems to get their money from the state up front by having the state borrow $2 billion at low interest. [more]