While schools and nonprofits across Illinois brace themselves for the potentially devastating cuts proposed in Gov. Pat Quinn’s 2011 budget, officials in many of the state’s public transit agencies are seeing their budgets climb. But some say the increase provides little relief to their more immediate problem – a failure by the cash-strapped state...
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For anyone who’s paid a traffic ticket, filed a lawsuit in small claims court or checked online to find the next court hearing, the circuit clerk’s role is integral. But that could change, as all 102 circuit clerks across Illinois, including Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, face 10 to 20 percent salary cuts...
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Local school councils are out, Renaissance 2010 is in, and the fight against the machine has only begun. Activists and experts have taken a stand to bring back public schools and public involvement in education; they said they are fighting for their voice.
Pauline Lipman, policy studies professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago,...
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Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) plans to reform or possibly abolish the General Assembly scholarship program when the legislature returns to Springfield in January.
“We don’t know what those reforms could be. It could be anything from streamlining the process, creating a uniform process, or it could be complete abolishment. But we’re not going...
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The millions of dollars in scholarships Illinois lawmakers hand out each year to high school graduates in their districts could be better spent on students who couldn’t otherwise afford to go to college, higher education experts say. They recommend the General Assembly scholarships be used to target the state’s poorest students.
Zakiya Smith, policy adviser...
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Efforts to abolish the century-old Illinois General Assembly scholarship program have proven unsuccessful in the past, but outside of eliminating it altogether, higher education and financial aid experts say there are ways to improve it.
They recommend a number of changes, from developing a consistent set of standards in choosing the winners to lawmakers being...
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Five Illinois lawmakers require students applying for a legislative scholarship to register to vote – a requirement that some experts say is inappropriate and discriminatory.
John Whitehead, president of the Virginia-based The Rutherford Institute, said lawmakers who require applicants vying for Illinois General Assembly scholarships to register are discriminating against students whose religious beliefs prevent...
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Marcie Gutierrez, a teacher at John Hay Elementary on Chicago’s West Side, wanted help paying for school when she attended the University of Illinois at Chicago to further her education. So she applied for a legislative scholarship from Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), whose district includes her school.
Gutierrez, however, didn’t live in Ford’s district.
Illinois’ General...
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Gretchen Watson got an undergraduate degree and her master’s, too, thanks to the Illinois General Assembly scholarship program. For seven years, Watson, now an elementary school teacher, didn’t have to worry about tuition bills at Northeastern University.
Mary Kate McLoughlin, the daughter of a Chicago precinct captain who works for state comptroller Dan Hynes and...
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Someone has to pay for the millions of dollars in scholarships state legislators dole out each year – and that ends up being the rest of the students who attend Illinois’ public universities.
For the 2007-2008 school year – the most recent data available – the state’s public universities gave 1,509 legislative scholarships worth an...
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