Joe Walsh, the Republican elected to the old 8th Congressional District in 2010, announced last night that he will be running in the new 8th C.D. in the 2012 election, not the 14th. This is startling news since the Democrat remap of Congressional Districts had put Joe Walsh in the new 14th C.D., pitting him [...]
D300 seeks more money from Sears tax deal
December 1, 2011 By
A vote is expected today on a bill that would finalize the deal to keep Sears here in Illinois. Not surprisingly, Carpentersville District 300 is one of the main players fighting for a big chunk of the revenue pie that such a deal would provide. According to its web site, D300 estimates that it is [...]
Let’s follow Wisconsin’s lead: Dump union labor negotiations
February 19, 2011 By
Is $16,000 Per Year Per Child a Lot? As pension expert Bill Zettler has shown us in his thorough analysis, Illinois’ K-12 school system is spending $16,000 per child, about $30 billion each year. Let’s bring those figures down to where we get the full weight of this spending. Let’s pretend the state would give [...]
Why is the Office of Cook County Assessor So Powerful and Important?
October 26, 2010 By
Sharon Strobeck-Eckersall is highly qualified to be the Cook County Assessor having been certified and elected previously in Evanston. I enthusiastically endorse her candidacy. Cook County Assessor does not have to be credentialed. Cook is the only county in the state where the chief assessing officer does not have to be certified by the Illinois [...]
Cause and Cure of Illinois Debt Crisis
June 7, 2010 By
The Illinois Legislature faces a massive debt crisis that they refuse to cope with because they fear the political power of the Illinois Education Association, (IEA), this state’s. division of the National Education Association. The IEA controls the K12 school system. The result is massive mismanagement and reckless spending on salaries, pensions, repairs, and construction. These long unrestrained [...]
High Pay for School Superintendents
April 26, 2010 By
This article first posted on February 26, 2009. See updated list of top 200 salaries below. Recently, a newspaper reporter asked why school superintendents shouldn’t receive salaries as large as do leaders in private industry.The question was prompted by the recent notoriety generated by a news article on the huge salaries and pensions some superintendents [...]
VIDEOS: Education Pensions in Illinois & A Speech at the Values Alliance Breakfast
April 19, 2010 By
Speech at the Values Alliance Breakfast by Jack Roeser Education Pensions in Illinois – featuring Jack Roeser and Bill Zettler
Chicago Tribune’s advice to Republicans reveals bias
February 18, 2010 By
The February 17th editorial of the Chicago Tribune offered advice to the Republicans on how to win the November election. You might expect that such advice would be directed at handling the major problems of Illinois such as the need to massively reduce expenditures, to somehow avert financial disaster, to address payment of overhanging deficits in [...]
Why Did The IEA Endorse Dillard?
January 18, 2010 By
The endorsement by the Illinois Education Association of Dillard for Governor was unexpected and greeted with suspicion by some. Some say that since Dillard is the likely Republican primary election winner the IEA is trying to open a window. Others say that the donation will cause Dillard to go easy on the massive education budget [...]
IL GOP Senators: Some never fail to Disappoint!
Once again, some Senators of the Illinois Republican Party failed to uphold the platform of the Illinois Republican Party. This time it occurred in the Illinois State Senate when 11 Republican State Senators violated the Illinois Republican Platform by voting for SB 2185, better known as the Illinois Dream Act, or as I like to [...]