Hi Fred,
The following essay is the evolution of several emails between my sister, Betty Dietz, and myself over the weekend. It began with just random thoughts while typing then turned into this final product.
We began by reflecting on how the Catholic school students viewed those students attending public schools when we were growing up. Then we moved on to Mike Madigan’s pension decisions and speculated what they might be based on.
My sister is 1963 graduate of Mother McAuley High School and I graduated from Br. Rice HS in 1961.
These views are our own and in no way reflect the views of the IRTA. My sister and I are just a couple of retired teachers here reflecting on growing up in the big city in the middle of the last century. That doesn’t make us seem old, does it?
– Jim
Michael Madigan.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
He attended St. Ignatius College Prep on the west side of Chicago. He attended college at the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Madigan represents the 22nd Representative District on Chicago’s southwest side. He has also served for many years as Democratic Committeeman of the 13th ward. His is generally considered one of the more effective ward organizations at a time when the vote-getting power of such groups has declined notably.
Heavenly reward v Secure retirement.
– Betty Dietz and Jim Keating
Based on the early years of Mr. Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, as reported on his Wikipedia page, it appears that he has never been inside an Illinois public school. At least not for the first 25 years of his life or so but quite possibly, never.
He was educated by very noble, dedicated, and self-sacrificing members of the Catholic Church who, in some cases, took vows of poverty. These teachers would get their fair and just rewards after they retired. Well, actually after they died, not after they just retired or could not work any longer. But it would be for all eternity! Maybe Mike sees public school educators in the same way.
All three of us, Mr. Madigan, Jim Keating, and Betty Dietz, attended Catholic schools in Chicago about the same time. Back then the city public schools were our competition. We played city “Prep Bowls” against them. And, of course, they were not considered our equal. We were taught that a private school education you pay for is definitely worth more and valued more than one that is free and public. Also, the Chicago public school system was definitely inferior to the Catholic one. The public school is where kids went when they were “kicked out” of the Catholic school. Oh, the shame!
This biased and unfair view of one state supported public school system Mike may have had growing up could be the reason that he treats all public school educators with such disrespect. It could be easy for him to transfer his views about the Chicago Public schools to the public school systems state wide, especially if he has never had any first hand experience with either of them.
The point is that Mr. Madigan has no idea how hard Illinois’ highly skilled educators work because he has never seen one working. He has likely never actually sat in a public school classroom, so he has no empathy for public school educators today because his frame of reference is the 1950s when he was in school.
He also probably believes that public education should go back to the poverty wages, the women only need apply job descriptions, and the “those who can do and those who can’t teach” attitudes of those Fabulous Fifties.
What do you think? Does Madigan have an excuse for treating public school educators the way he does? Is it simply that he was raised that way? And how many other members of the General Assembly have Mr. Madigan’s educational background? Does our Governor?
Wait a minute. This is interesting but it’s a done deal. Mike and the rest of the General Assembly passed SB1 without any consideration of the public education community’s value or financial needs. The real question is: What schools did the justices on the Illinois Supreme Court go to, and do they value those who taught them and see educators as respected members of our society and deserving of fair ethical and moral treatment? Will their next court case be Heavenly reward v Secure retirement?
Fred Klonsky 
Even the nuns had a secure retirement before their heavenly reward.
Probably sad but true. Unfortunately, for many of our politicians the only time they’ve been in a public school is for a photo op or to vote. Many of them have the perspective that students today are like they were–a 2 parent home with a disposable income for luxuries which reinforces the idea that they are indeed out of touch with the issues and many the state’s constituents. I’m sure they’ve never wondered what the life of the waitress and the fancy restaurant they dine at or the people who clean their houses are like or ever inquired.. When you feel you’re entitled by virtue of your position, everyone else is relegated to a subservient position. This may be an explanation but it’s no excuse.