Negotiations are going on as we speak over an education reform bill in Springfield.
It is not very clear what will be in the bill until it is made public.
Audrey Soglin, Executive Director of the IEA is quoted in the Springfield Statehouse News:
“We have a strong stand that the collective bargaining in our state works,” said Audrey Soglin, executive director of the Illinois Education Association. “We do not believe they need to be changed. We do not offer any compromises or any other solutions to any of the issues that they raised.”
The “they” appears to be Stand For Children and the proposals are in SFC’s Performance Counts agenda.
The issues are collective bargaining rights, the right to strike and LIFO (last in, first out) seniority-based staff reduction practices.
Soglin’s public posture is good news for teachers, who have seen their rights eroded by so-called reforms in Illinois over the past couple of years, and repealed in neighboring states this year.
A good turnout in Springfield by IEA members on May 4th may be just what the IEA leadership needs to stiffen their resolve and impress members of the General Assembly.
Jim Broadway, who publishes Illinois School Policy Updates, says that SFC may have jumped the gun on what any new legislation may contain.
On Thursday, media at the Capitol received an embargoed (delayed reporting required) advisory of a news conference set for 10 a.m. today:
“The day after the conclusion of education reform negotiations in the Illinois Senate, Performance Counts supporters will announce the agreements made in the negotiations that will lead to meaningful reform in Illinois’ schools….”
An all-star lineup was slated: Jonah Edelman, CEO of Stand (see his exceptional biography); Advance Illinois director Robin Steans; Illinois Business Roundtable President Jeff Mays; and Juan Rangel, CEO of the United Neighborhood Organization.
Michael Bakalis, the last elected Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction (an office eliminated at his suggestion in the 1970 Constitution, unfortunately), former candidate for governor and current private sector school entrepreneur, was also to participate.
The advisory was premature. Progress has been made but disagreements remain. This morning, Stand issued a “never mind” news advisory.
What has been agreed to? What disagreements remain?
The answers will impact teachers for years to come. But if you feel out of the loop, don’t feel like you’re the Lone Ranger.
Fred Klonsky 
There is no other satisfactory way than last in first out. Anything else would be subjective and arbitrary. If teacher pay was based solely on student perfomance, what would our unemployment figures look like?
WE stand for children
WE stand for ourselves and fellow educators
WE stand for safe, clean schools
WE stand for academic excellence.
YOU do not get to create your fat, cat union busting group to say that YOU stand for children, when children are the bottom of your to do list.
Feel free to forward my comment Klomsky. These people make me ill.
So, I guess we’re not going to be kicked out of the room when discussing the right to strike even though our position is not negotiable. It’s only on other issues that we’d be kicked out of the room if we didn’t signal our willingness to “compromise”. I find this very confusing. There is no consistency on the “at the table” rule! Hmm………
Ed. Ain’t that something? All of a sudden Audrey is trash talkin’. We’ll see how long that lasts.
As a college instructor I had many students in my ENG 101 class that had to take 1-3 classes just to get to that level. The $ needs to be spent on educating the children and keeping good teachers. While I never have been a Union member I fully understand and support your right to collective bargain. I will be doing what I can to support teachers! Keep up the fight!