Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:
Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Wendy Katten. Stop the ISBE’s attempts to end class size limits for Special Education. Call ISBE President Gery Chico.
ISBE President Gery Chico. From Wendy Katten. ISBE tabled the vote to eliminate special ed class size rules and the 70/30 rule in September. It looks like they are about to sneak the vote through at their 1/22 meeting in Springfield. You can email isbe (rules@isbe.net) or you can call Gery Chico at work and leave a vm – 312-884-5666. I doubt he’ll be reading the emails that come in and over 5500
Keeping retirement weird.
The week started with a foot of snow. Then more snow. Then a polar vortex. Last night it rained, melting half the two feet of snow faster than the sewers could swallow. Stepping out of the car, I sank into a half a foot of ice water, protected by my Eddie Bauer boots I spent a fortune on last winter. Best purchase I ever made. Anne and I went out early to hear CPS parent and education activist Ma
Bev Johns. Another attempt at raising Special Education class size.
Bev Johns is a long-time Special Education activist and advocate. From: Beverley Holden Johns Date: Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 12:41 PM Subject: new ISBE plan to eliminate special ed class size The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) staff has a new proposal to ELIMINATE State special ed class size limits, and ELIMINATE the State 70/30 rule - the 30 percent limit on the percentage of students with
School administrators: “We are working in concert with all the parties.”
From Glen Brown’s blog. Pension Reform Message to Illinois Association of School Administrators Members (from Executive Director Dr. Brent Clark). I’m paraphrasing, but Judge DiVito believes that the courts would have to ignore years of applicable case law and the intent of the pension protection language that was approved during the 1970 Constitutional Convention. In the next few days we will be
My support for this court fight is without reservation.
Some of my colleagues have raised questions about the particulars of the legal strategy in defending the pension protection clause and fighting Senate Bill 1. I could and did share my opinion about how to pursue the political fight before SB! was passed and signed by the Governor. But I don’t know anything about the current legal particulars. I’ve heard from the lawyers andI’m confident that our
Chicago Teachers Union endorsed Will Guzzardi for 39th House Rep.
In a major development in the campaign for State Representative in the 39th District, the Chicago Teachers Union announced its support for progressive Democrat Will Guzzardi. “From opposing school closings to working for an elected school board, Will Guzzardi has stood side by side with us and fought passionately to defend quality public education,” said CTU president Karen Lewis. “Guzzardi is th
JAN 09
Scott Reeder is up to no good when it comes to TRS.
Scott Reeder has made a career out of bashing teacher unions. So, it was no surprise to find this piece of pseudo-journalism in something called Cornerstone Media – Lincoln Trails Publishing. Reeder has several arguments going in this article. One is that there is somehow something wrong with taxpayers, in the form of the state, paying into the retirement systems of those who work for the state. I
Kirk Dillard opposes any minimum wage and then asks for union endorsement.
Republican State Senator Kirk Dillard opposition to any minimum wage makes him a moderate among GOP hopefuls. While a lot of attention has been given to Bruce Rahmer flip-flop on the issue of a raise in the minimum wage, there has been less attention to the comments of his Republican opponent Kirk Dillard. Dillard opposes any minimum wage. Actually, Kirk Dillard wants to abolish the minimum wag
Tony at the Red Line Tap.
“Shut the friggin” door,” yelled Tony as a staggered in from the Polar Vortex and a 40 mile an hour wind blowing south down Glenwood. “I had to get out of the house. I was going stir crazy. This is the fourth morning in a row I woke up to sub-zero temperatures. Sean. I’m feeling like a Portuguese Rochefort Trappistes 10. Bottle. No glass. “No problem,” said my new-age server. “Are you guys checki
Somethings to read on a cold January night.
Nothing to do tonight? Not interested in the new episode of Parenthood? Captolfax provides us with links to the three law suits that have been filed so far. Curl up in front of the fire. Tabet Divito and Rothstein LLC on behalf of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association. Rabin and Meyers PC on behalf of the Retired State Employees Association. Donald Craven PC on behalf of the Illinois State Em
JAN 08
Will pension theft be Quinn’s Achilles’ heel.
Weeks before the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1, stripping state retirees of crucial benefit benefits, they passed a similar bill raising the retirement age of Chicago Park District employees and reduced retiree COLAs. The workers are represented by SEIU local 73. Yesterday was the last day Squeezy could sign the bill. While the We Are One coalition of state public employees that r
Fishing in November.
Count of Bruce Rahmer to stir it up. With his own millions to spend on union-bashing ads and with deep-pocket contributors like Democrats Glen Tullman and Ken Griffin (Illinois’ richest man), he gets a lot of attention. Last week he ran a TV ad attacking public schools and praising charters, ignoring the irony that he bought a condo in the city for the expressed purpose of getting his own kid into
Alert: Representative Robyn Gabel preys on seniors.
Retired folks in the north Chicago suburbs should be on the alert for a scam that targets seniors. The scams seem to be the work of a local gang known as the Democratic Party. I can share with you the names of at least two of these gang members: Dan Biss and Robyn Gabel. Here is how the scam goes down: The gang meets at their headquarters down state where they have figured out how to get into t
Standardized testing.
. A few weeks ago I registered to take the online qualifying test for Jeopardy. Maybe like you, I have watched Jeopardy for years. Maybe like you, members of my family have said, “You should be on this show.” I was foolish enough to believe them. I was scheduled for last night at 6PM. I had written the entry password down somewhere, so the first job was to remember where I had put that slip of pa
JAN 07
Weingarten trashes value added measures. What do we do now?
Good news. Diane Ravitch’s blog yesterday reported that AFT President Randi Weingarten has changed her mind about value added measures in teacher evaluation. VAM uses test student test scores to measure teacher effectiveness. It is junk science. Weingarten’s reported new view may have a positive impact on future bargaining of AFT local contracts. I hope so. Many members of both the AFT and the NE
Man, that was awkward.
Watching the Mayor’s press conference was really awkward. First, let me point out that the Sun-Times photo of the Mayor and Barbara Byrd-Bennett is credited to Fran Spielman. The story is by Sun-Times reporter Art Golab. Fran is the city political reporter for the Sun-Times, but since the Sun-Times fired all their staff photographers, she has been reduced to taking iPhone pictures of BBB and the
Ken Previti. Loyalty, Chicago style.
Ken Previti’s blog: This reminds me of a situation I encountered during my 20 years as a supernumerary (an extra) at Lyric Opera of Chicago on one opening night backstage. Opening nights are attended by big-shots, politicians, donors, critics and even a few opera lovers with money for those extra-expensive Opening night tickets. On that night Carol Fox, the founder and director of the Lyric who wa
JAN 06
Todd Mertz’ pension news.
Friends and Colleagues I have not written since Dec. 5th. Here are some noteworthy items since SB1 passed: Tribune Cartoon: Portrays Teachers and State Employees as a Neutered Dog On December 4th, the day after the Senate and House passed SB1, which will steal between 30% and 50% of retirees and active teachers’ pensions, theChicago Tribune had the audacity to publish a truly tasteless cartoon.
Todd Mertz. Pension news.
Friends and Colleagues I have not written since Dec. 5th. Here are some noteworthy items since SB1 passed: Tribune Cartoon: Portrays Teachers and State Employees as a Neutered Dog On December 4th, the day after the Senate and House passed SB1, which will steal between 30% and 50% of retirees and active teachers’ pensions, the Chicago Tribune had the audacity to publish a truly tasteless cartoon. W
Forum on charter schools. Looking at the research.
Please attend this public discussion featuring a panel of experts and researchers who have asked this important question, or have researched some of the charter scams and corruption cases associated with charter proliferation. Thursday, January 23rd, 2014 6:30 PM till 8:30 PM, Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL. 60510. In Chicago, Rahm Emanuel has shuttered 50 neighborhood scho
Bob Lyons. The TRS law suit.
Bob Lyons is a member of the Teacher Retirement System board of trustees. He represents all retirees in the TRS system. The IRTA in suing the state over the pension reduction bill sued Governor Quinn, State Comptroller Judy BarrTopinka, and the Board of Directors of the Teachers’ Retirement System. When the IEA and IFT file their suit, the individual members of the TRS Board will also be include
Rahm’s guy pleads guilty.
Amer Ahmad, who Mayor Emanuel hired as City Comptroller, has pled guilty to charges of money laundering. He faces 15 years in the slammer. He was hired by Rahm advisor Lois Scott. Scott still works for the Mayor. According to that plea, Hampton, 39, of Canton, Ohio, made secret payments to Ahmad, who steered state of Ohio securities brokerage work to Hampton. Ahmad and Joseph M. Chiavaroli, 33,
The in box. High praise, indeed.
Hey Fred, You remind me of Mike Royko. I met the Chicago Sun times columnist Royko at Billy Goats at the bar once. Told him I was a fan and had read all of his articles. He told me, “You didn’t read all of my stuff…fuck off!”.. My wife and I treasure that memory. I am a retired teacher from Wheaton, Il. Thank you for your work as there are many who use your blog to update ourselves on the current
There’s nothing in the contract about the temperature.
At 6:30 I got up to let Ulysses out. He didn’t want to go. The thermometer read -12 degrees. By the way. Now – three hours later – it says -14 degrees. Up until yesterday afternoon CPS boss Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Mayor Rahm Emanuel (who was vacationing in the South Pacific with his family) were saying the the schools would be open. Faculty and staff were expected to show up for work. Parents c
JAN 05
Bomb-thrower or cheerleader.
Recent emails by the most ardent apologists for IEA leadership have attacked me because I raise criticisms of our union leadership. Reader Joan Kramer reminded me that I have been the target of both those who claim I am a union cheerleader on the one hand and those who think I am an anti-union bomb thrower, as IEA President Cinda Klickna once described me, on the other. Last June, while on m
Jose Vilson. What matters in education discussions. And not just because he quotes my brother and my daughter.
Jose Vilson: At this point, I’ve seen panels and books from all sorts of folk that aren’t K-12 educators, including folks who I genuinely appreciate. People with business degrees, marketing, politics, advertising, billionaires, and a whole slew of other professions not directly related to K-12 education. I even include my higher education folk who, even if they have similar issues, know that K-12
Sunday reads.
Glen Brown. The sinners of the last round lie completely sealed in ice… Canto XXXIV, Circle 9: The Inferno Chicago schools making AYP (Adequate Yearly Pooping). When he was young and smoked dope, I bet David Brooks was not the kind of guy you would want to get high with. You know the kind of guy I mean? I’m sure he bogarted the joint. My friend Micah Uetricht and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor talk Chic
JAN 04
The in box. Michael Wierzbicki.
Fred, I totally agree with you. While I have never been a member of IEA or IFT I am a past president of the IPA and a member of IASA as well as IRTA. It was gratifying to see IASA join with IRTA in the initial lawsuit. I have been giving the officers and ED of IPA a little hell for not coming out stronger on the pension reform issue thus far, What you are doing is not so much criticism, but more o
Interview with myself.
Question: You posted the other day that we need the unity of all the organizations that represent Illinois public employees in the court fight for our pensions. Answer: Yes I did. Q: But then you criticized your union’s leadership. Weren’t you contradicting yourself? A: I don’t think so. I called for my organization’s leadership to work closely with all other representatives of public employees an
Keeping retirement weird.
Tea Party Republican Uihlein. Democrats Tullman and Griffin. This morning’s topic is giving. If you are like Anne and me you probably give charitable donations through the year. Then in a mad rush in the final week of the calendar year you make out a few more checks. For tax purposes. Although at our level of income and tax deductions it doesn’t really make a difference in our taxes. It is sor