PEACE AND HARMONY REIGN IN ILLINOIS
In the last nine and a half years there has only been thirty-seven teacher strikes in the state of Illinois. That’s four strikes a year during that time period. We are in a period of unprecedented peace and harmony when it comes to school board and teacher union negotiations.
I hereby award a prestigious Golden Chalk Award to all school boards who rewarded their teachers with salary and benefits that were at least adequate or better, and showed an understanding of how important and difficult the job of teaching is.
Another Golden Chalk Award goes to school board members and teacher negotiating teams who implemented some very creative settlements that avoided what otherwise would have been very bitter battles.
Another award goes to parents and students who supported their teachers during some very difficult negotiations