Illinois’ largest education employees’ organization is recommending Gov. Pat Quinn and his running mate Sheila Simon for the top jobs in Illinois state government.
The Board of Directors for the Illinois Education Association-NEA (IEA) voted overwhelmingly to back Democrats Quinn and Simon for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, in the November election.
Watch a short video on the recommendation.
According to IEA President Ken Swanson, it is crucial to the future of public education in Illinois that the Quinn-Simon ticket be elected.
IEA has a bipartisan political philosophy and has endorsed both Republicans and Democrats for top offices over the last 30 years.
In the governor’s race four years ago, IEA made no recommendation because neither candidate offered a plan to ensure every Illinois student would have an opportunity to attend a great public school. This year, Swanson said, is different.
“There never has been a more clear-cut choice for governor and lieutenant governor of Illinois. The Illinois Education Association enthusiastically recommends Governor Pat Quinn and Sheila Simon to our members and to everyone who supports public education,” Swanson said.
IEA represents more than 133,000 education employees including elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers.
The Illinois Education Association is an affiliate of the 3.7 million member National Education Association (NEA).
Related: Brady’s pension idea called, “expensive,” “idiotic.”
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.
So, in other words, the IEA is endorsing the status quo.
If by “status quo” you mean allowing IEA members and other public employees to continue to receive their pensions, yes, I’m pro status quo.
If you mean remaining committed to raising revenue that will preserve education jobs and programs and keep class sizes manageable, yes, status quo is to way to go.
If you mean keeping public education dollars in public schools, not private schools, yes, we need the status quo preserved.
If you think any kind of change will do, please familiarize yourself with Brady’s plan to ravage public education.
Robert,
Regarding pensions, the TRS is currently underfunded by $44 billion. So, the status quo of “borrowing money” is the way to go, eh? … Interesting logic.
What’s the solution, raise income taxes? … Is that fair to the 95% of Illinois workers that pay for, but no benefiting from, the State Pension System? I guess the answer to that question will come in the November elections.
Remember how those pensions became underfunded; The teachers made all their payments, the state did not.
Our kids deserve high quality teachers. Compensation helps districts attract and retain high quality teachers.
Education quality benefits everyone. Among other things, good schools attract employers and support property values. Pat Quinn is the best candidate to preserve and enhance the quality of our schools and help Illinois start moving in the right direction.
Quinn is the status quo. A weak and ineffectual governor who cannot stand up to the leaders of his own party in the legislature. The recent “pension reform” legislation is just a taste of things to come in a Quinn administration.Just this week Quinn announced cuts of $241 million in elementary and high school education,$100 million in higher education funding and $313 million in human services.
We need progressive leadership in this state and we are not getting it from Governor Quinn.
Rich Whitney of the Green Party is the only candidate in the race with a plan to fix our broken tax system and end the structural deficit. He’s the only candidate who has vowed to fight the attacks on our pension system and raise the revenue needed to gradually reduce the shortfall and restore pension stability. The only candidate that recognizes a strong public education system is necessary for the private sector to flourish.
Despite these positions, and the fact that the Illinois Green Party is now an “established political party” in this state after Rich Whitney garnered over 10% of the vote in 2006, Our IPACE committee did not even ask Rich to make a presentation. They say he’s “unelectable”. Not if enough enough of us vote for him. If you’re tired of supporting the “lesser of two evils” candidates, I urge IEA members to check out Rich.
I am disappointed, as a former LEAD and IEA member, in the IEA endorsement of Quinn with apparently no discussion with Rich Whitney. Rich’s proposal to mirror North Dakota’s state bank would bring in nearly $800 million into the pockets of the taxpayers instead of the corporate bankers. This is only one proposal that would benefit all the citizens of Illinois in bringing in new revenue without raising taxes. Rich and the other Green Party candidates have many positive proposals. I encourage all the other former and current members contact the leadership and demand they at least give the Green Party candidates the courtesy of discussing their education platforms before just giving an endorsement to the same entrenched officials who are the cause of the problems we face.
With all due respect, it’s nice to want things, it’s nice to believe things, but, in the end, you have to deal with reality.
Here’s reality: Either Bill Brady or Pat Quinn will be Illinois’ next governor.
If you care about education, you have to do what you can to make sure Brady isn’t elected.
A Brady governorship means less funding for public schools, bigger class sizes and program cuts, the diversion of public money to private schools via vouchers and the elimination of the pension system for public employees.
It doesn’t matter what Whitney’s proposals are. He will not be elected. It’s impossible.
Just as voting for the unelectable Ralph Nader helped elect George W. Bush, every vote for Rich Whitney or some other unelectable candidate is, in effect, a vote to make Brady the next governor.
Brady is a disaster for students and for education employees.
He’s imperfect, but Pat Quinn is the best hope for those who care about children who attend public schools. Do the right thing; vote Quinn-Simon.
Please feel free to explain why it is advantageous to support the IEA when it continues to back only bipartisan, and not so much as even invite Rich Whitney to listen to his plan. Also, please refrain from making any kind of unsubstantiated comment in terms of the improbability that Whitney will not be elected.
Now, allow me to comment on your opinion, “Just as voting for the unelectable Ralph Nader helped elect George W. Bush, every vote for Rich Whitney or some other unelectable candidate is, in effect, a vote to make Brady the next governor”. The reality, as you so notably mentioned, is that the residents of Illinois can choose who to vote for. This isn’t the Presidential Election of 2000, Mr. Weiss. With all due respect, who are you to say that a candidate is unelectable? Particularly, an established party candidate.
I know a lot of people who went home with the peace of mind that they did not only have to vote for Rod Blagojevich or Judy Baar Topinka. That may not mean a lot to you, but its does for those that, as you wrote, “want things” and “believe things”.
Morty, with all due respect, that sort of mentality is what keeps third-party candidates like Whitney from being elected. If we keep saying they can’t win, and tell others that, then, no, they won’t win. But if we change our mentality, and get organizations like the IEA to change theirs, then we will get more choices to vote for. Just look at what they say: “IEA has a bipartisan political philosophy and has endorsed both Republicans and Democrats…” It shouldn’t be “bipartisan” – it should be NON-partisan.
Whitney isn’t the only third-party candidate in this race. But he is the only established-party candidate (he received 10% of the vote in 2006) who has been routinely ignored. He’s also the only one who has a real budget plan – the other two major candidates don’t have ANY plan.
I’m not telling you who to vote for – I’m mainly saying, to all IEA members, please be open-minded when you vote. Research each and every candidate before you make your choice.
Talk about bad timing…shortly after the IEA made its endorsement…our beloved Governor does this today:
Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises – some of more than 20 percent – to his staff while proclaiming a message of “shared sacrifice” and planning spending cuts of $1.4 billion because the state is awash in debt.
The Democrat has given 43 salary increases averaging 11.4 percent to 35 staffers in the past 15 months, according to an Associated Press analysis of records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
I hope that those people who are opposing the recommendation of IEA went to the polls during the primary and cast their votes at that time. We had the opportunity time to make a great difference in the Governor’s race and too many of our members sat home and twiddled their thumbs instead of going to the polls to make their voices heard. Now we have to choose between the lesser of two evils. Senator Bill Brady will, if elected, set education back at least 100 years. I have been an active and retired member of IEA for 48 years and I have seen plenty of changes over that period of time and one change that I don’t want to see is the change that Sen. Brady has promised to our pension system if he becomes Governor. Please look in depth at each of the candidates and whether they can be elected before you cast your vote.
Brady’s proposals for destroying public pensions are “stupid and idiotic” and would actually end up costing the taxpayer so much more that they’re unlikely to happen. But Quinn offers nothing that will change the continued TRS underfunding and deterioration of assets.
Under Quinn, expect proposals to extend the current pension reforms for future hires to current employees. Although our pensions have some constitutional protections, we can expect efforts to change things like our required contribution, sick leave credit,and retirement age.And we’re seen how easily Governor Quinn can be pushed aside by his own party’s leadership.
Rich Whitney is the only candidate who has a plan to change the current unfair tax system, erase the structural deficit and restore full funding of TRS and maintain benefits.Apparently hyperlinks can’t be posted to this forum, but I urge any members who want to see a real change to the status quo in this state to Google Rich Whitney, find his website and read his plan for Illinois’ future. And if your on Facebook, join Educators for Rich Whitney
Pension erosion. Higher taxes. Non-funded mandates. These are issues we can deal with if we elect a decent, though ill-advised Quinn. Brady actually said he doesn’t believe in equal pay for equal work? Is he a caveman? We won that fight. Let’s not vote for someone who so disrespects women and minorities.
Purportedly, as published in the Pantagraph (Bloomington), just before Quinn signed the most recent state budget for fiscal 2010-2011 (at the Thompson Building in Chicago, I might add), he struck his pen through a few budget lines, reducing school transportation and general fund/payroll even more. The repayment of funds owed to schools for fiscal 2009-2010 was extended from the already late date of Sept. to Dec. of this year. No one who gets into office at this point will have an immediate solution for the state budget crisis, but I disagree that we need more of the same leadership.
Quinn is ineffective…really if Quinn is elected, it’s another term for Governor Michael Madigan, the same person who created the TRS crisis to begin with, the same person who regularly passes TIF districts that rob schools of their funding and create slush funds for local leaders. Madigan is the man who created the school funding crisis where thousands of educators lost their jobs this year. Madigan put electoral politics ahead of teachers, and Quinn just went along with it. How can the IEA endorse that?
Unlike Quinn, Brady and Whitney will stand up to Madigan, but as many commenters have said, Brady is going to be bad for public education. Whitney on the other hand is pushing for a more equitable school funding formula through income taxes rather than property taxes. He’s outside the Madigan party and wouldn’t owe his success to Democratic Machine, and wouldn’t need Madigan’s patronage army or campaign funding. He’d be free to take positions that are more people-oriented, and frankly, more responsible.
It’s unfortunate there is no 3rd party candidate capable of contending for governor, but that is reality. It would be remarkable if Whitney got 20 percent of the vote, but it would still make him a distant 3rd place finisher and would likely guarantee the election of Bill Brady.
The future for public education depends on electing someone who cares about public school children and families. Pat Quinn has made some mistakes, but he is an honest man who does care.
I support preservation of the TRS and SURS systems. I want a good education for every student. Therefore, I will vote for Quinn-Simon.