- Patch up the pensions? Thoughtful editorial in the Sun-Times calls on Illinois lawmakers to adopt the same two-tier pension system for new police officers and firefighters as the lawmakers approved for other public employees earlier this year. The editorial points out that retirement funds for a lot of our public safety workers are in deep trouble, and they can no longer be immune from benefit reductions, despite our deep appreciation for the courage and commitment of the folks who protect us.
- The sphinx speaks. House Speaker Michael Madigan, who speaks softly (and rarely in public) but carries a very big political stick (note the Dem-friendly Illinois election results that defy national trends), offers some advice to our no-longer-accidental governor, the squeakily-elected Pat Quinn. MM tells Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago Business that Quinn should broaden his argument for an income tax hike from education-only to an assault on the state’s multi-billion-dollar pile of unpaid bills.
- Summer School for Teachers? Sounds like a logical conclusion after poring over a story in today’s Tribune about the low marks a lot of the teacher training programs in Illinois received in a survey of their math and reading preparation. The failure to adequately teach the teachers may be contributing to the underperformance of so many of the students in our public schools.
- Another provocative column by cage rattler extraordinaire Steve Rhodes in today’s Beachwood Reporter. Steve tells us the stories behind the stories, including:
- the free condo fix-ups Congressman Luis Gutierrez allegedly got from master fixer Tony Rezko;
- initial reaction to the trial balloon sent up recently by proponents of a massive expansion of gambling in Illinois; and
- the Springfield showdown over whether the state’s Freedom of Information Act should include or exclude access to the job performance reviews of teachers and other public employees.
