Latest news with #IllinoisEducationAssociation
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
IEA releases State of Education report
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — According to the Illinois Education Association, Illinois adults overwhelmingly are fans of public schools. The IEA released polling Wednesday as a part of its 7th annual State of Education report. The polls showed more than 91% of adults from the state agreed that 'students have a right to education at a public school.' That number stayed the same for students with disabilities. Manufacturers would stop selling Styrofoam containers under Illinois bill 'Public education is the great equalizer. It's the key to the American Dream. It is the one thing our country does that levels the playing field for all children. Rural, suburban, urban, no matter who you are or where you come from, a good education can change your life,' IEA President Al Llorens said. 'We will continue to do whatever it takes to make sure our students have access to strong public schools. It's what Illinoisans want and it's what our students deserve.' Also found from the poll is a majority of Illinoisans are empathetic to teachers, with 74% of people think teaching has become harder over the last few years and 78% of the public say they are very worried about the teacher shortage. Other findings from the report include that the majority of Illinois residents believe schools should get more funding. 'The people of our great state strongly support public education and our students, so much so that they support fixing the funding issues facing our schools. They recognize teachers and staff are working harder than ever before and they also know our educators are not making enough money and don't have enough support in our schools,' Llorens added. Illinois Attorney General joins lawsuit to stop closure of US Dept. of Education The poll was conducted with both a Republican pollster (Next Generation Strategies) and a Democrat polling firm (Normington Petts). 1,000 Illinois adults were surveyed for the poll between Jan. 27 and 30. The pollsters said it has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent with 95 percent confidence. The full summary report can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Pritzker and Illinois educators condemn Trump's cuts at Department of Education
Gov. JB Pritzker warned at an Illinois Education Association convention Thursday that cuts to federal education funding could 'damage the future of the people of Illinois,' shortly after the state sued to stop President Donald Trump's moves to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Pritzker thanked the delegates present for their support of children and the 'sacrifices' they've made to 'shape the future of this great state and this nation.' 'Instead of proposing anything to improve math reading scores for students or to support those who work long hours to educate our children, they're making it harder for working-class students and their parents to get ahead by firing more than half of the department's workforce with no notice and no due process,' Pritzker said. The Department of Education initiated mass layoffs Tuesday night, terminating up to 50% of its employees. 'We're witnessing one of the most brazen and aggressive efforts to undermine public education in America,' Pritzker said. Trump has mulled an executive order to close the agency since he took office in January. With Linda McMahon recently sworn in as the department's education chief, the president has said he wants her to 'put herself out of a job.' The dismantling of the department and the recent large-scale firings will have a 'profound effect on schools in Illinois,' Illinois Education Association President Al Llorens said in a statement Wednesday. Over 1,000 Illinois school districts and educational entities receive Title 1 funding to support the poorest students, aiding nearly 1 million students, according to the statement. More than 1,000 entities receive funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, supporting almost 300,000 students. Also receiving Title 1 funding are over 260,000 Pell Grant recipients and over 28,000 children enrolled in Head Start. These programs have proven vital for the state's more vulnerable students, and cutting the department would be 'deeply harmful to Illinois students and our communities,' Llorens said. 'The U.S. Department of Education was founded to help realize the promise of a quality public school for every student no matter where they live, the color of their skin or how much money their family makes,' Llorens said. 'It does not dictate what schools teach kids or how they educate them. It is part of the fabric that is public education in the United States and it is public education that works as the great equalizer for our country.' Also on Thursday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a lawsuit seeking to stop the Trump administration's 'dismantling' of the Department of Education and to slow the mass layoffs of employees. As Illinois students rely on the Department of Education to oversee the processing and release of their financial aid to 'make informed decisions about pursuing postsecondary education,' Raoul said in a statement, the Trump administration's 'unlawful, unconstitutional action' will destroy this process. 'Using mass layoffs to effectively dismantle a department that has its responsibilities set in federal law is yet another example of this administration's unconstitutional and unlawful overreach,' Raoul said. Raoul, as part of a coalition of 20 attorneys general, is seeking a court order to stop the administration's workforce and program cuts that would 'dismantle' the department, his office said. Pritzker thanked him Thursday for 'fighting what Donald Trump is trying to do to education.' Speaking with reporters after his speech, Pritzker didn't say exactly what programs in Illinois could be on the chopping block with the proposed dismantling of the Department of Education. He also noted that there's still a lot of uncertainty about whether the administration's actions will match its words. But in general, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are trying to 'diminish, if not do away with' certain standards for children, he said. 'One of those standards is that every disabled child should be able to get an education,' he said. Another is 'that every one of the kids who qualify should be able to go to college,' he added. That makes it crucial to rally public support and continue fighting the administration in court, the governor said. At the same time, Pritzker reiterated that the state can't pick up the bill for billions of dollars lost in potential overall cuts to federal funding. 'We're all about lifting everybody up. If the federal government is not going to be a part of that, truly, they are going to damage the future of the people of Illinois and the future of this state,' he said. The new administration has cut the U.S. Department of Education by about half, and Trump has said he wants to dismantle it completely. Trump has said the department is wasteful and a bastion for left-wing indoctrination. Amy Ellis, a teacher in the downstate Triad school district, said she agreed with the governor that protecting public education means protecting the Department of Education. 'It's time to quit treating education as a business. It's not a business,' Ellis said. 'Our bottom line (is) kids and making them be successful, thriving adults. We can't do that if you're undercutting everything that we're doing.' Emily Wittenauer, a teacher in the same downstate district, said any plans to dismantle the Department of Education are 'shortsighted.' There are 'things falling through the cracks, especially in special education. To not fund that or have people oversee that is crazy,' Wittenauer said.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Metro-east state rep settles lawsuit over blocked Facebook comments
Illinois State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, has settled a lawsuit alleging he violated the First Amendment free speech rights of four constituents by blocking their 'critical' comments on his Facebook page. The lawsuit was filed last year in Madison County by Bond County attorney Tom DeVore on behalf of Jared Poettker of New Baden, Donald Moore of Troy, Sharon Williams of Belleville and Roger Respondek of Clinton. The settlement agreement calls for Meier to reinstate Poettker's access to his Facebook page and to reinstate comments from Moore, Williams and Respondek. The plaintiffs were not seeking any monetary damages. The agreement describes Meier's Facebook page as a 'hybrid' with official and political information on it. Meier and the plaintiffs signed the agreement Wednesday. On Friday, Meier announced on Facebook that he has started a new page for 'official state activities.' The new page is called State Representative Charlie Meier. 'As my constituents know, I have been focusing all my energy on my health following my recent cancer diagnosis while doing my best to represent the people of the 109th district,' Meier said in a statement Friday. 'I decided it was in the best interests of myself and my constituents to settle this politically motivated lawsuit so we can all move on.' Meier announced last month that he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. DeVore, who unsuccessfully ran as a Republican against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, in 2022, said the settlement with Meier 'speaks for itself.' 'He knew what he did was unconstitutional,' DeVore said Friday. 'There was really no question about it.' The lawsuit didn't include the specific comments that were critical of Meier, but DeVore said in an interview last year that one of the issues involves campaign donations by the Illinois Education Association, which is a union for teachers.
