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Saturday, August 23, 2014

8-23-14 Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

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




TMD. Lisa Madigan pleads insanity.

-John Dillon is a blogger at Pension Vocabulary, retired teacher and pension activist. On August 21st, legal counsel representing ISEA, RSEA, Heaton & Harrison filed a joint motion in Sangamon County for a judgment on the pleadings as to the affirmative defense, or in the alternative, to strike the affirmative defense. An affirmative defense, in this case the summoning of “reserved sovereign p

Walter Esler. Thousands of Illinois public workers see rollback of health costs because of Kanerva.
- Walter Esler is a member of AFSCME Retired and an activist. Thousands of retired Illinois teachers, civil servants, and university staff will soon be seeing their health coverage deductions cut in half. Illinois Department of Central Management Services(CMS) has rescinded an emergency rule doubling retiree health coverage premiums. The rollback came after SUAA Director Linda Brooks contacted Sta
Walter Esler. Thousands of Illinois public workers see rollback of health costs because of Kanerva.
- Walter Esler is a member of AFSCME Retired and an activist. Thousands of retired Illinois teachers, civil servants, and university staff will soon be seeing their health coverage deductions cut in half. Illinois Department of Central Management Services(CMS) has rescinded an emergency rule doubling retiree health coverage premiums. The rollback came after SUAA Director Linda Brooks contacted Sta

YESTERDAY

Glen Brown. IRTA asks judge for summary judgement based on ISC Kanerva v. Weems.
- From the Illinois Retired Teachers Association (IRTA): This motion filed in Sangamon County asks Judge Belz to make a summary judgment on the lawsuit in lieu of a trial due to the Illinois Supreme Court ruling on state employees’ health insurance. - Glen Brown blogs at Teacher/Poet/Musician Glen Brown ISEA, RSEA, HEATON AND HARRISON PLAINTIFFS’ JOINT MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS AS TO T
If you love this city…
When I read that the Karen Lewis mayoral campaign committee filed papers with the State Board of Elections Wednesday morning it just added to what we all know. Karen is running for Mayor of Chicago. “If you love this city, write a check,” I wrote on Facebook. When I read my own words I kind of surprised myself. Do I really love this city? I don’t love Rahm’s Chicago. Or Penny Pritzker’s Chicago.

AUG 21

NBC’s Ward Room. Mark Anderson. Chicago is ready for progressive reform.
- This is reposted from Mark Anderson on the NBC online Ward Room. Look out, Bill de Blasio—here we come! While no one can predict the outcome of the 2015 city elections this far in advance, it seems clear something unusual is brewing in Chicago politics. For the first time in a long time, the political power structure in Chicago appears to be gaining some serious opposition. And that opposition
Bob Lyons. If they can take my pension, they can take your social security.
  - Bob Lyons represents retirees on the Illinois Teacher Retirement System board of trustees. I fully expect at some time in the future that as active and retired teachers and public employees we will face a challenge from the forces that want to cut our retirement benefits where they will attempt to change or totally remove the provision in the Illinois Constitution that protects public pensions
Jersey Jazzman. The myth of the burned-out older veteran teacher. We get better with age.
- Jersey Jazzman is a teacher and education blogger. Non-teacher David Boies is absolutely convinced that we are plagued by old, bad, burned-out teachers; that’s why we need to get rid of tenure, see, and replace them with young, inexperienced, poorly-trained teachers, like the ones at TFA, the vast majority of whom will leave teaching after three years. Makes complete sense… Non-teacher Jonathan
Sun-Times’ Mark Brown. Teachers ready to teach Rahm a lesson.
- Mark Brown, Chicago Sun-Times. The adoring crowd that welcomed Karen Lewis to the Beverly Woods Banquet Hall on Tuesday gave the first of her public “Conversations with Karen” the feel of a Chicago Teachers Union rally. That’s probably because it was a CTU production start to finish — arranged and publicized by the union’s organizing staff in support of rank-and-file members from the neighborho

AUG 20

Hinsdale. Teachers union isn’t signing on the dotted line.
- The Doings Clarendon Hills. The Hinsdale High School Teachers Association is not painting as rosy a picture of contract negotiations with the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board as the board president did Monday. “There was dramatically less progress on Monday than in previous sessions,” association spokesman Michael Palmquist said Tuesday. Board President Richard Skoda said representatives
TMD. Randi’s trust problem.
AFT’s Weingarten promises a million bucks for Karen Lewis’ run for Mayor.
  Sun-Times: The head of the American Federation of Teachers says the national union is ready to spend $1 million to help Karen Lewis unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel if the Chicago Teachers Union president decides to run. “I did say privately to Karen and at our executive council meeting that if Karen was to run, we would be all in,” AFT leader Randi Weingarten told the Chicago Sun-Times in an intervie

AUG 19

While vacationing on Block Island I discover a story of a teacher and Mississippi Freedom Summer fifty years ago.
Monroe Engel, who had a summer home on Block Island, went to Mississippi in the summer of 1964. We have joined our Brooklyn family for the last few weeks of summer on Block Island, Rhode Island. This week’s Block Island News features a story of Harvard professor Monroe Engel and his experiences as an older participant in the historic 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. * * * * * * * * Monroe and Bre
Karen Lewis. Rahm’s CPS hiring stunt.
- Karen Lewis is President of the Chicago Teachers Union. (Sun-Times) The City of Chicago is gearing up to enforce its Chicago Public Schools preference policy, which would give CPS graduates preferential standing among other firefighter applicants, providing an unfair advantage above students enrolled in private or religious schools. While Mayor Rahm Emanuel apparently seeks to encourage more op

AUG 18

The Missouri compromise.
I never promised I wouldn’t check my email while on this late August hiatus with my family. I doubt it would surprise you that I received tons of hate mail of late. Hatred not so much directed at me, but at what I have had to say about the death of Michael Brown and the people’s response in Ferguson, Missouri. It is a level of white racism and hatred – real racist language – that I do not allow t

AUG 17

I support Carlos Rosa for 35th Ward Alderman.
State Representative-elect Will Guzzardi and State Senator Willie Degado with candidate Carlos Rosa.

AUG 16

TMD. Welcome to Ferguson.

AUG 15

CPS bans parent Rousemary Vega.