What Education means when they say "community involvement"

This article, and a response, have some interesting insights into how our school districts stack the deck when it comes to "citizen advisory committees":

Daily Pantagraph: Olympia wants to spend money on new grade school

STANFORD -- Olympia school district residents want to spend referendum
money on a new Olympia North Elementary School and upgrading electrical
and security systems at all the schools.

That was the consensus of five groups of residents reporting this week to the district’s Citizens Facilities Planning Committee.

That was the consensus of five groups of residents reporting this week to the district’s Citizens Facilities Planning Committee . . .

The planning committee was organized to collect public opinion on how
to spend money from the April 2007 referendum. The five groups that
report to committee were formed as part of a series of public meetings
last month at Olympia’s five schools . . .

The April 2007 referendum will have two questions asking for a total
tax rate increase of $1 per $100 equalized assessed valuation . . .

One referendum will ask voters to let the district issue $12.5 million in
bonds for construction. That would carry a rate increase of 50 cents
per $100 EAV.

The other referendum would seek an increase of 50
cents per $100 EAV for the education fund, which pays for most
operating expenses. The education rate would increase from $2.40 per
$100 EAV to $2.90 per $100 EAV . . .

“They [the committees] have now been able to see the common needs throughout the district and definitely have developed a district view and perspective,” [District Superintendent Hahn] said. “(District architect Sam) Johnson (of BLDD Architects) told them to put their board member hat on, and they did just that.”

Too bad the architect didn't tell them to put on their "tax payer hat" instead of their "Board hat".

In response to that Pantagraph article, the following was posted anonymously on their website in the way of a reply:

"Just so you all know. I was part of one of the "Community Groups". Yeah, we
were told to put our "board member hats" on, BUT we were also given constraints surrounding how we spent our money. The "BOARD" had already decided that we would build a new school for North. The only thing we got to "recommend" was how big the replacement school would be and how we should spend the rest of the $$ from the bond. We had to make sure we were "fair" with how we split the rest out in order to try and sell the idea to the rest of the district. What a total joke!"

The Illinois Loop has an excellent piece on School Committees and the administration strategies involved. It's nine pages for those of you interested in the whole thing. Here are some excerpts:

At best, many "consensus" committees whittle away personal goals in favor of lukewarm
conclusions that make no one happy. Emerson said, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds."

These techniques (sometimes labeled as "Delphi" methods), were developed early in the 20th
century, where they were heavily used by trade unionists and by progressive social organizers
such as Saul Alinsky. These techniques are heavily in use today by corporations, churches,
human resource organizations, trade organizations and social groups in forming a "consensus"
supporting pre-constructed goals. It use of the "committee" along these lines has been a powerful tool used by schools in building support for changes in school policies or curriculum.

The key to such committees using these techniques is that the desired outcome is planned in
advance. The purpose of the committee is not to design or plan or come up with a new course of
action. Rather, the purpose is to "achieve consensus" on a desired course of action that is already known (by the organizers).

Many people are well-familiar with these techniques from their use in business, though they don't usually recognize them as such unless it is pointed out. Corporations might use such committees to enlist employee support for a new program or reorganization.
The same techniques are also often used by trade organizations and professional associations to
solidify support for the most commonly-held agenda items, and to winnow out more marginal
concerns.

A key element of these committees is the "small workgroup". Members of the whole committee
are assigned into smaller groups to "work" on some subset of the "task" assigned. This has a
number of effects.

1. First and foremost, it breaks up cohorts so that like-minded people each find themselves as
the odd man out in their small workgroups.
One strategy that is extremely common in school presentations and committee meetings is
"random assignment": As participants enter the meeting room, they are handed a card with
a number, which is the number of the groups that have been assigned to. This technique is
extremely effective in breaking up sets of people that arrive together. If three people feel
strongly about an issue and arrange to go to the meeting together, they could exert
influence if they were allowed to be in the same group. This technique prevents that.

2. Beyond that, these small workgroups keep people from challenging the big picture, from
questioning the limitations of overall structure or the material provided, and from limiting
concerns to one's own group and not disturbing or questioning the progress of another
workgroup.

In schools, these committees are used to get teachers, parents and others to "buy into" a proposed initiative. There is nothing resembling Robert's Rules of Order or any informal procedure even vaguely related. There is no open debate, no discussion of what the goals of the committee should be, and certainly no voting. It goes without saying that there is no process to select a leader for the group -- the leader is already a given, typically a school administrator who has been trained in the techniques of being a group "facilitator".

Any of this sounding familiar, folks?

For another take on this problem, see this post from C.J. Summers:

Arnstein’s Ladder

Tazwell County Spending To Rise 1%

According to the Peoria Journal Star:

The Tazewell County Board is set to approve a $49.5 million fiscal year
2007 spending plan that includes money for additional correctional
officers at the Tazewell County Jail and funding for improvements
within the Supervisor of Assessments Office.

They go on to say later in the article that:

Overall, the budget is up about $500,000 from what was budgeted in fiscal 2006.

Sixty percent of the budget for next year will go for salaries and benefits.

Illinois HB 750 Tax Swipe . . . erhh . . . Swap.

The Illinois Democrat election wins and domination in Springfield seem to presuppose the passage of Illinois HB 750. The teachers unions have made it quite clear what they expect for their massive contributions to candidates.

The HB 750 "tax swap" to reform education funding has been in the works for nearly two years. The idea is to reduce dependence on property taxes for education. That sounds like a reasonable plan until you examine what they really mean by this. Hint: all education money will go first to Springfield and then to the schools; no more local referendums - no more local control, and no guarantee that local property taxes won't go right back up to previous levels.

This is simply a tax increase, and a move to put education funding into Springfield where it can be controlled by Big Education and the unions.

Income taxes are to go up by 2% and business income taxes by 4%. There will be a 6% sales tax on "services". There is to be a tax abatement to reduce the portion of property taxes going for education, subject, of course to interpretation in Springfield. However, there is really no guarantee that this money will find it's way back to property tax payers and indeed, without being cynical, we wouldn't be surprised to hear an announcement down the road that this money is needed to make up short falls in the teachers' pension funding.

The estimated increase in taxes will be $7.2 billion; the estimated property tax reduction will be $2.5 billion; as if we don't have enough problems with the business climate and job creation here in Illinois!

HB 750 sounds good if you listen to education, Springfield, the media, and the unions; not so hot if you examine the real bill. Unfortunately, there is no real clout lined up to oppose this assault on tax payers.

The Extensions Are Coming. The Extensions Are Coming!

Over the next few weeks your friendly local neighborhood Taxing Authorities will be releasing their requested property tax extensions. We think we can safely predict that none of them will be less than last year although some may be claiming they are "reducing taxes" because they are temporarily lowering the tax rate.

In addition, the "stealth tax" - the silent tax hikes due to rising appraisals - will continue to rise. This is due to taxing districts spending the increased property taxes from higher appraisals but not lowering the tax rates.

There are three factors to keep in mind when reviewing these extensions. The first is the tax rate, which Woodford County for example, plans to lower. The second is the EAV (equalized assessed valuation). That's the sum of all the assessed valuation property in the taxing area. The last is the levy, which is what the taxing district says it needs to operate, which Woodford County for example, will be up.

To avoid the confusion, which benefits the taxing authorities because it decreases criticism from the public, the easiest thing for a voter to do is focus on spending by the taxing authorities. Is it up? How much? Is that reasonable? Where is this "new money" coming from?

The real issue for the County, School Districts, Library Districts, Fire Districts, Community Colleges (especially ICC) is SPENDING, and how much is the budget increase? The rest can be, and usually is, smoke and mirrors.

Still No Woodford County Web Site!

It has now been eight months since the Peoria Journal Star headline screamed, "Woodford County To Develop Web Site"!

Chairman Whitaker said, "Ten years ago, I would have scratched my head and said, 'Is this something we really need?' Today, we really need it."

The newly hired Administrator Greg Jackson said, "There are efficiencies that can be gained from e-government technologies," Jackson said. "It also shows the public that we are an open government and allows (the general public) to come online and see what we can do."

Of course this was during the primary election when certain candidates were vowing to "drag Woodford County, kicking and screaming if necessary, into the 21st century". We believed then and we believe now that this publicized vapor-ware of a web site was a stunt.

The County Board granted over $6,000 to Minonk to develop a web site. It's granted money to El Paso. Presumably the need is perceived for a county website:

Jackson said his efforts, thus far, have been well-received, with all the county department heads and elected officials supportive of the Web idea. "They are as excited about this as I am," he said.

Meanwhile, citizens of Woodford County must drive by the County Boardroom in order to see meeting agendas and minutes. There is no easy way to email Board Members. There is no easy way for voters to monitor budgets or committee meetings. The majority of Illinois counties had up to the minute elections results last week. Not Woodford. Many Illinois Counties allow for fee paying online. Not Woodford County.

Perhaps the leadership has been too busy scheduling special meetings to discuss the sanctioning of other Board members to worry about tax payer participation in local government.

This is an issue of transparency in government. Woodford should open up to scrutiny by the taxpayers.

Eight months and counting since the promises. We'll keep you posted.

Peoria Pundit Calls 150 on Bonds

Peoria Pundit hits this one out of the park in his blog:

Retiring State Sen. George Shadid is torn over whether or not to try to override Gov. Blagojevich’s veto of legislation that would let the Public Building Commission raise taxes on behalf of Peoria School District 150 without benefit of a referendum.

“I don’t think we’re able to satisfy the governor because the governor has a very narrow definition, or a very conservative definition, of what a tax increase is,” said district treasurer Guy Cahill.

The school district’s position is that the legislation would not lead to a tax increase.

Rather, the district would replace old bonds with new bonds. As a result, the tax rate would hold steady, but people would pay that rate for a longer period of time. If the school district does not issue new bonds, the tax rate gradually would decrease starting in 2007.

Shadid said he is trying to get a consensus from community leaders about whether to attempt the veto override.

The senator says he normally would be completely in favor of helping out District 150, but too many people have told him they they just flat out do not trust the people in charge of the district these days.

My two cents: I am one of those people who just doesn’t trust District 150 these days. But I would be opposed regardless.

Let’s dispense with the “it’s not a tax increase because your tax bill is the same argument.”

Lets say you took out a car loan. The last payment was made in October and you owe no more money, your obligation is over. But the bank sends you a bill anyway for the exact same amount in November. You call them to ask what’s going on and they say you have no right to complain because it’s the exact same bill you got last month and it’s no increase in your financial obligation to the bank.

That’s exactly that District 150 wants to do. Folks, the district is retiring one debt and that means taxpayers’ obligation is over. State law prevents them from going into debt again without a voter referendum. Because trust for District 150 is at an all-time low, there is no way voters will approve. So, they want a state law to allow the city’s public building commission — the PBA — to have the power to issue bonds to help pay for District 150’s planned building spree without benefit of a referendum. And the backers of this plan are walking around telling folks it’s not a tax increase because the tax bill is going to be the same .. just like my hypothetical bank.

It’s a tax increase folks. Cahill knows it. He’s a money guy. He knows he’s feeding taxpayers a smooth line.

Don’t fall for this line.

State universities created for sons of toil

We were particularly struck by the following editorial letter to the Indianapolis Star dated Friday, November 10, 2006. While clearly discussing Purdue in particular, we think Mr. Morills comments are worth remembering as our state universities and community colleges race ahead further and further from their roots. As always, the emphases are our own:

I was disappointed in my alma mater, Purdue, and Indiana University, after reading The Star article ("In-state students increasingly on the outs," Oct. 30.) It felt like I just got kicked out of the house so my dad can give my room to a stranger from Illinois.

The state university's first priority is with the natives because we pay for them through our taxes. Purdue is certainly to be beholden to sons of the state because it is a land-grant college whose chief congressional architect, Rep. Justin Smith Morrill, said in 1862: "This bill proposes to establish at least one college in every state upon a sure and perpetual foundation, accessible to all, but especially to the sons of toil."

Admission standards are expected and understood. However, these state universities were not designed for the intelligentsia and their own elitist ends by recruiting "talent" and exclusive bumper-sticker honor society students. They were designed for us -- the sons of toil.

Greg Rosen

Indianapolis

ANOTHER Tax District in Woodford County?

We can see right now that a referendum is coming on a "Eureka Park District" being created and funded from new property taxes on owners in what is roughly the CUSD #140 area.

We need another taxing authority in Woodford County like we need another piece of SPAM e-mail.

There are already too many taxing districts (authorities) in Woodford County - 140 at last count. That's one unique taxing body for every 265 residents!

We can see why the City of Eureka and District #140 would be on board for this train wreck, the former eager to shift costs out of budget and the latter figuring it will be good for the athletic program, and better to keep those costs elsewhere on the tax bills. What is also clear is that the main thrust is a land-grab by the Eureka Youth Recreation Association and the local Junior Football League.

We (and we hope you) will keep a close eye on this one.

For The "Common Good"

We suspect that you will be hearing a great deal about "The Common Good" over the next months and years from the "new" congressional leaders.

(As a side note, this "national 'vote for change' " translated into a massive reelection of incumbents - as usual. This year's rate is around 96%.)

Hold on to your wallets. This "Common Good" work is code for transferring money to the special interest groups which elect the majority.

It will be a "difficult slog", but if you, unlike the majority of Americans, can hold onto an integrated philosophy of what is best for you, your family, and ALL citizens, you will prevail.

Unfortunately, most voters don't have a consistent, coherent political philosophy. They will pick and choose issues which benefit them and they really don't care about society as a whole. It's a contradictory patchwork; and it works for pandering politicians.

Americans seem to also have a taste for telling other what or what not to do. Referrenda on banning smoking, caging pets, extending zoning ordinances, etc. are more popular than ever - as long as it's the OTHER guy paying and getting regulated. Voters at the local level have tasted using government power to force others to their viewpoint and it makes them feel empowered.

Stay the course and do not be seduced. Stay active locally with your county, school board, lobrary board, fire district, etc.

Your taxes on a state and federal basis are going to be increasing more rapidly than ever before. Get prepared for it and work to ensure your local taxes are held in check.

Good luck, we're all counting on you.

Election Night Online

Two spots not to miss for you election results junkies:

1. Illinois State Board of Elections

They've promised to have "live" updating numbers beginning when the polls close at 7 PM.

2. CNN.com

Yeah, we know, but coverage can be expected to be extensive and the Web site has been promoting the CNN Pipeline live video-news premium service touting live pundits and reports from election headquarters. You can also create a personalized scorecard to watch individual races.

In addition, they've invited almost two dozen political bloggers to "live-blog" the results from an Internet cafe in Washington, D.C. Some of the blogs will be taken live on the air on the tv side.

Guest Post: Illinois Pension Nightmare

A "Nightmare" Indeed

from illinoisreview by Bruno Behrend

Yesterday's Tribune headline blared "Illinois' pension nightmare." Here are some excerpts, with thoughts attached.

Illinois, with an estimated $45.8 billion pension shortfall, has among the worst funding records in the country. From Connecticut to Oklahoma, pension obligations are threatening to overwhelm budgets, pinching states' ability to pay for pressing priorities such as education, transportation and health care.

From a political perspective, this offers the best opportunity in a generation to create real political reform. The culture has always been able to digest a little corruption, but the politicians here have a) created a huge patronage army of government workers (yes Virgina, teachers are government workers), and b) showered them with unsustainable benefits, which sadly, are Constitutionally protected once vested.

What few people understand is that there isn't enough future tax revenue to pay off these promises. Taxation will only yield economic decline that destroys the ability to pay the promises. Reform is no longer an "option," it's now a force of nature.

The parsite no longer lives in harmony with it's host.

Then came the 2001 recession and stock market collapse, which reduced pension funds' value and triggered a budget crisis during Gov. George Ryan's administration. At the same time, a costly early-retirement program increased the pension obligations.

The "recession" had barely any impact. Stock values are back above where they were in 2001, and this should be reflected in the article. The fact is that our politicians, bought and paid for by the patronage army they created, showered unsustainable benefits on their funders.

The mediocre Tribune, strategically running this article 1-2 years too late, (but clearly designed to benefit Topinka) is as responsible for the shortfall as any entity in the state. They probably endorsed 80-90% of the politicians that voted for this obscene largess, all while promoting the myth that "more money = better education."

At an HB 750 "Dog and Pony" show, I pointed out to the crowd that IL spending on education increased 153% from 1985 to 2003, while enrollment had only increased 13.1%. The Honorable John Frichey's response was refreshingly honest. He said, "Yeah, but that all went to pensions.

Though not covered in the article, Illinois Review readers should know 2 things about the recent "roll back" in the piggish "Early Retirment Option." First, your legislator's paymasters (teacher's unions, BIg Ed) are busy working to restore the full obscenity through large exceptions. Second, the obscenity of the ERO can and will continue at the local level, provided the district has the money.

Did you ever wonder why so many districts are crying poor? They are loading up for providing locally funded EROs. Go ahead and FOIA your latest teacher's contract. Look at the goodies. If you don't have the time, at least have the decency to vote down all referenda.

But unless it's solved, Msall and others warn, taxpayers will be the losers. The state constitution requires that retirement benefits be paid at the level they were promised. While lawmakers can decide to cut school funding, they can't get out from under the pension obligations.

"Pension funding will trump all other contributions over time," Msall said. "It should be at the front of anybody's mind who cares about education, about transportation, because if you don't get the system fixed you're not going to have any money for those in the future."

Nothing would be more deliciously ironic than watching 'real' education spending being cut to fund the piggishness of the generation that came before it. Whether the vehicle is a
"fake" tax swap, another give away to retired government workers, or an argument over funding an increasingly failing education system, the ground may well shift under Illinois political status quo . . .

Guest Post: My Libertarian Propositions

A Dialogue With A Liberal
By Arnold Kling, October 13, 2006

"Consider this an invitation. Are these propositions meaningful? Are they helpful? Are they simply wrong? As a liberal, how would you change them or modify the list? As a conservative, how would you draft a similar list for conservatives?"

-- Geoffrey R. Stone, What it Means to be a Liberal

I will take up this invitation University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone, speaking not for conservatism, but for my own brand of libertarianism. First, let me comment on a couple of his propositions.

Stone writes,

Liberals believe individuals should doubt their own truths and consider fairly and open-mindedly the truths of others...Liberals are skeptical of censorship and celebrate free and open debate.

I agree that this is the liberal ideal. In my experience, liberals are not as open-minded as I would like, but open-mindedness is a difficult ideal to uphold. I am pleased to see open-mindedness listed first.

Later, he writes,

Liberals believe government has a fundamental responsibility to help those who are less fortunate. It is liberals who have supported and continue to support government programs to improve health care, education, social security, job training and welfare for the neediest members of society. It is liberals who maintain that a national community is like a family and that government exists in part to "promote the general welfare."

I believe that in reality what has helped the less fortunate is economic growth. Today's elderly are affluent not because of Social Security, but because of all of the wealth created by private sector innovation over their lifetimes. Government involvement in health care and education is an impediment to progress in those fields. Job training and welfare are demonstrable failures. I think that treating a national community like a family is a grave intellectual error. A national unit is an institution that creates a legal framework for a large group of strangers to interact. A family is a small group that interacts on the basis of personal bonds. Strengthening government serves to weaken families and other vital civic institutions. If Professor Stone is truly as open-minded as he says, then he ought to examine what economists have found about the sources of economic growth and the ways that poverty has been alleviated over time.

My Libertarian Propositions

1. Liberty is important for its own sake. People are entitled to make their own choices.

2. There are other values in addition to liberty. However, many noble causes end up infringing on liberty without achieving their desired ends. Government policies should be evaluated on the basis of their consequences, not on the basis of how they make us feel. It may feel good to set a minimum wage, to impose rent control, or to declare a war on drugs, but the evidence is that such policies tend to work to the detriment of their intended beneficiaries.

3. I value relieving the suffering of others. However, compared with liberals, I have considerable humility when it comes to advocating taking other people's money in order to satisfy my urge to alleviate poverty.

4. Corporate power is adequately checked by market forces. Competitors are the main force protecting consumers. Alternative job opportunities are the main force protecting workers. For corporate power to be a threat, it must be allied with government power.

5. We would be better off with much less regulation. I will grant that some forms of deregulation, such as eliminating meat inspection, appear to have risks that outweigh the potential benefits. On the other hand, many forms of deregulation, such as eliminating licensing restrictions for medical practice, have potential benefits that outweigh the risks.

6. Government is just one of many institutions for collective action. There also are trade associations, civic associations, religious groups, charities, and many other organizations that can provide collective goods.

7. Government's unique institutional characteristic is the legal use of coercive force. This creates enormous potential for abuse, and indeed, there are many countries where government abuses its powers constantly, to the severe detriment of the population. The abuses are less evil in the United States, but where liberals look at government expansion and see opportunity, libertarians see threat.

8. Providing for the common defense is a legitimate function of government.

9. There is no such thing as the "international community," only a constantly-changing array of allies and adversaries. The United Nations serves mainly to prop up authoritarian regimes. The European Union is a bureaucratic nightmare. The United States should be proud of our ideal of liberty, especially economic liberty.

10. In a world where small, covert operations (also known as terrorism) are a significant threat, government needs to use the tools of surveillance. However, surveillance power must be subject to checks and balances that are beyond those currently available.

Arnold Kling is author of Learning Economics.

Governments Oppose Things That Work

Courtesy of Coyote, we submit this,
via Neal McCluskey at Cato:

District officials, as well as the president of the teachers union, bristle at assertions by the Charter Schools Association that middle and high school charters are significantly outperforming their district counterparts.

A fairer comparison would be with the district’s magnet schools, which outperform charters, school board member Jon Lauritzen said.

“I think it’s basically unfair to compare an entity that is able to take their entire budget and focus it entirely on their own schools,” he said. “They have some real advantages over our schools in the flexibility of actually providing the type of education that a particular community wants, whereas we are trying to provide a curriculum that works for everyone all across the school district.”

This last paragraph is hilarious on its face. The average parent must wonder what Mr. Lauritzen is doing with the public school funds in contrast to focusing his entire budget at, you know, the schools, like those evil competitors do. And what government official would ever be caught dead providing the type of serves that a particular community actually wants. And this is all in the context that charter schools are, in McCluskey's words, a "pale shade of choice."

So, what does the teachers union and school board members do in the face of competition that they acknowledge works better? Do they demand the same flexibility in spending and rules in their own schools? No! Of course not! They demand that the schools that work better be eliminated:

It’s no wonder that, a few months ago, Mr. Lauritzen proposed a moratorium on charter schools, and that public schooling’s defenders fight even harder against reforms like vouchers and tax credits. After all, who could just sit by and watch parents get schools they want when an old, hopeless system is suffering?

Ahh, John Kerry - Ya Gotta Love Him

Senator Kerry stepped in it again and his timing was pretty bad. We think we can accept that he was trying to slam President Bush (although his own university performance was rather lackluster "his own self") and blew the joke. Never the less, it provides an opportunity to examine the myth, promoted by anti-military types, that the poor make up the majority of those that serve.


The facts simply don't bear this out:




The military really doesn't ask how much money your parents make when they sign you up. However, they do ask you what zip code you are from, and this analysis seems to belie the assumption, showing the army is actually made up disproportionately of recruits from the richest rather than the poorest zip codes.

Halloween Gets The Ax

Halloween gets the ax:

"School crime was dealt a sharp blow in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when Jordan Locke was suspended for bringing an ax to school. In an open letter to area media, Superintendent Joel Carr and school board President Thomas DeBolt wrote, 'As administrators of schools, with the safety of hundreds of children in mind, it is also our job to protect lives, too!'

"The incident was controversial because: 1) Jordan is five years old; 2) his ax was five inches long and made of plastic; and 3) it was part of his Halloween costume. Jordan dressed as a firefighter. He was suspended for violating a district policy that prohibits weapons - real or toy. Firefighters objected to their tool being labeled a weapon, prompting Carr and DeBolt's open letter apologizing for the incident."

Abentee and Early Votes More & More Important

Early voting has grown in the past 15 years, from around 2% of the national electorate participating to about 20% in 2004. Experts predict this year that 19% to 25% of the electorate will vote early at the polls or by mail-in absentee ballots. That compares with about 14% in 2002, the most recent midterm election.

Fueling the trend toward early voting, 30 states now allow unrestricted absentee voting, with 15 , including Illinois, allowing early voting in person at county-clerk offices and polling areas.

These votes, by definition, cannot be included in media "exit polling", so don't listen to the exit polling data which you'll hear throughout election day. They don't mean squat.

If you didn't vote early (and often, as a friend of ours likes to say), go ahead and get to the polls on election day, November 7th, regardless of whether you think your vote will "make a difference" or not.

We know it will.

The True "October Surprise"?

One week from today the votes will be tabulated and all of the guessing will be over!

The Mike Allen report lays out some interesting last minute information:

Top Republican officials believe the GOP will keep both houses of Congress next Tuesday, and they have five good reasons to think so (in addition to Bush's residual popularity in some crucial states and districts:

1) No Republican is being taken by surprise, unlike many Democrats in 1994. Shortly after Bush's reelection, White House and Republican National Committee officials began working to convince House members that the formidable reelection record for incumbents (since 1996, 97.5 percent) was not something they could take for granted. "What we attempted to do last year," said one of these officials, "was to go out of our way to say to people: 'You face a potential of a race. In order to win as an incumbent, you better have a plan,' " including an intensive focus on voter registration, a message plan that would unfold in phases, and a ground organization that was operating in a measurable, quantifiable way. One official involved in the process said Republican officials deliberately "scared" lawmakers, telling them: "You face a very tough road. You better be ready."

2) Absentee ballot requests and returns, closely tracked by the party, are meeting or exceeding past levels for Republicans in key states and districts. Republican officials say White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and party operatives are scrutinizing this data with the same intensity that they followed metrics like voter registration earlier in the cycle. For at least 68 races, they have been getting reports once a week on the number of voters registered, phone calls completed and doors knocked on. Now, they're getting a second report on the number of absentee ballots requested, absentee ballots returned and early votes cast. "We can look at that data flow and make an assumption about what's going on and plotting it out," a Republican official said.

3) When the national parties, national campaign committees, state "victory" committee accounts and competitive campaigns are added up, Republicans maintained a substantial financial advantage over Democrats at the last filing period. "We didn't look on it as one pot," said one official involved in the process. "We looked upon it as four pots, with synergy available through all four."

4) Republicans say the district-by-district playing field favors them in several structural ways not reflected in national polls. Here is their thinking, starting with statistics from the President's 2004 race against John F. Kerry: "There are 41 districts held by a Democrat that Bush carried, and 14 seats held by Republican that Kerry carried, so we're fighting on better turf. You see it in the open seats, where Bush carried 18 of the Republican open seats and Kerry carried two. So we're fighting on better turf."

5) The get-out-the-vote machine designed by Rove and now-Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman in 2001 was dubbed the "72-hour" program, but officials say that's quite a misnomer and that it's really a 17-week or even two-year program. "In Ohio, we are making more phone calls this year than we made two years ago," said an official involved in the process. "Now, that's not the case necessarily in Virginia, which was not a battleground state. You have to build that. In other places, we built that and built it early."

Don't touch that dial!

Recent Illinois Races Fund Raising Efforts

This bulletin arrived today from our good friend Bob H.:



Here's a snapshot of money raised in top local races over the past 16 weeks. Totals include all contributions from July 1-Oct. 8, and donations of more than $500 received since Oct. 9.

GOVERNOR

Rod Blagojevich, Democrat, $3,492,109

Judy Baar Topinka, Republican, $3,707,499

Rich Whitney, Green, $24,519

LT. GOVERNOR

Pat Quinn, Democrat, $60,524

Joe Birkett, Republican, $460,992

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Lisa Madigan, Democrat, $672,011

Stu Umholtz, Republican, $42,713

SECRETARY OF STATE

Jesse White, Democrat, $344,167

Dan Rutherford, Republican, $316,948

COMPTROLLER

Dan Hynes, Democrat, $338,391

Carole Pankau, Republican, $122,843

TREASURER

Alexi Giannoulias, Democrat, $2,193,211

Christine Radogno, Republican, $552,340

COOK COUNTY BOARD PRESIDENT

Todd Stroger, Democrat, $638,515

Tony Peraica, Republican ,$407,229

"Tax swap" won't cut taxes or help schools

Guest "blogger":

October 21, 2006
BY MICHAEL VAN WINKLE

The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a rally at the Thompson Center last Saturday, officially jumping on board the education funding reform bandwagon. The rally was held to show support for Senate Bill 750, which Democrats will likely try to push through the General Assembly during November's veto session.

Jackson and Co. complain that our education funding system relies too heavily on property taxes, an arrangement they claim leads to vast inequities in available resources between rich and poor school districts. The bill purports to solve the problem by providing property tax relief in exchange for higher income taxes that would fund an increase in education spending. Proponents claim the ''swap'' would enable the state to increase its share of education funding, reduce the schools' reliance on property taxes and increase the overall equity of school funding.

Sounds great, right? Who could possibly say no? Unfortunately, the details of the bill expose the superficiality inside. Here are a few reasons we should forget about S.B. 750:

1. Education funding disparities are mostly irrelevant because spending differences between districts are not a good indicator of school quality. Spending differs across school districts for a variety of reasons. Not all low-spending districts are poor and not all high-spending districts are rich. Disparities are not themselves proof that someone is being denied access to quality educational opportunities.

2. There are a few cases in which funding gaps might matter, but S.B. 750 is not designed to fix them. The legislation being considered will not take money from overfunded schools and give it to underfunded schools. It will take money from all taxpayers and give it to all schools by increasing the ''foundation level'' support. It pays no regard to which might need more money and which might not.

3. Education funding reform does nothing to address problems with the allocation of education resources, particularly teaching. Teachers are paid on a strict union salary scale. Teachers also earn seniority -- which gives them, effectively, the ability to choose where they want to teach. Not surprisingly, most want to teach in schools where students have fewer educational and behavioral challenges. Because schools have no real freedom to offer higher pay for challenging environments, the net effect is that the most qualified teachers generally end up where they're needed least.

4. Despite being proffered as a tax swap, S.B. 750 is no such thing. The alleged property tax relief is an illusion. Taxpayers will actually get a property tax abatement, to be paid out of a fund into which roughly $2.4 billion of revenue generated by the income tax increase will be dumped. This fund will then be used to pay a portion of your property tax bill every year.
Your tax rate will not go down. The first time an economic recession hits and income tax revenues are not enough to fill the tax relief fund, the state will cry broke and you will once again be expected to cover the full balance of your tax bill.

5. There is insufficient oversight of school budgeting, which means there is no way for taxpayers to know whether the extra $1.6 billion S.B. 750 gives to schools will be spent on teaching kids or refurnishing the principals' offices.
To monitor how your district spends its cash you will have to attend countless school board meetings, make endless phone calls and probably file more than a few Freedom of Information Act requests. Will you get any help from the Illinois State Board of Education? Do I have to ask?

The state doesn't expect you to take it upon yourself to audit Central Management Services or the governor's office -- there is an auditor general for that. But when it comes to auditing your school, you're on your own.

I applaud Jackson and Co. for keeping education reform a topic of discussion, but their tax swap will only increase the cost of failure. To talk about education funding reform without also discussing accountability, standards, oversight and performance is a waste of time. And time is something many Illinois schoolchildren are running short on.

Michael Van Winkle manages media relations for the Heartland Institute.

"First Responder" Pork

The Daily Pantagraph today reports on a federal Department of Homeland Security grant for the city of Pontiac.

Would someone please tell us why the heck the Department of Homeland Security is sending money to municipalities to help relieve their fire department "overtime" problems?

Precisely how does this impact the general safety and welfare of the American people?

Or could it just be pork sandwiches for all?

Imagine the cartoon-like steam coming out of our ears as you read this piece from last April in the Washington Times.

Voters, Procrastinators, UNITE!

This year Illinois has joined the 34 other states which allow "early voting". These early votes are recorded but not counted until every other vote is counted on election day. Then and only then are absentee ballots and early ballots counted.

Now, can you tell us why "exit polling" data was so far off in the last presidential election? Don't believe the exit polls.

Don't believe these pre-election polls either. The paradigm has changed with cell phone emergence and the lack of public interest in responding to polls and surveys in general. What you're left with is a sub-group of fanatics that WANT to be polled.

Under no circumstances allow any media information to deter you from recording YOUR vote, be it absentee, early, or at the polling place on Election Day!

Just Vote!

Try to ignore the incredibly negative campaigning and advertising out there this election season, overcome your disgust, and get out and VOTE!

It's easier than ever this year. The State of Illinois has inaugurated what is called "early voting", which means you can vote at your designated location (usually the County Clerk's Office) beginning next Monday, October 16th through Thursday, November 2nd. After that, you must vote on election day which is Tuesday, November 7th this year (unless you obtain an absentee ballot).

Re-elect your incumbents or "throw the bums out" - we don't care as long as you excercise the right to vote. Next, become involved in your local political scene through your municipal, county, and taxing authorities' meetings as much as you can. It's a sad fact that real political power these days lies not so much in the vote as in the passage of budgets and laws.

As an aside, contrary to all of the County Administrator and media hand wringing, it is our prediction that Woodford County will indeed have a wind farm. Not to worry, we'll "grow" that power for Chicago - as long as the price is right.

"All Kids Illinois" health insurance

Well, it's been a month since our last post.

This is primarily due to our disgust and disillusionment with politics in general and "the media" in specific.

That being said we must tell you about this "Health Care for All Kids" in Illinois scam.

We just "applied" for enrollment in the program online.

Apparently "health care for all kids" only applies to those kids that have not been insured for a year.

Now we certainly aren't wealthy, but we have scrimped, saved, and sacrificed to provide health insurance for our kids. We shall now be penalized for this.

Now, if we can't prove our citizenship, we just sign something and we're put right through into the program.

If we divorced and just lived in the same residence we would be put right through.

If we were Black, Hispanic, or "Native American" (which, actually, we are - although we can't join the tribe without historical documentation which doesn't exist [gambling money with the tribes, don'cha know]) we'd be put right through into the program.

Here's our point - those who play by the old tried and true rules will receive no help. Those who play by the "new" cultural rules, which seem to reward selfishness, pettiness, and "Balkinization", will get all the "help" which they can stand.

As for us, we'll continue to pay cash for our health care; and we'll continue to treat our doctors, dentists, and nurses like we treat our auto mechanic, lawn-care guy, and HVAC folks - with respect, as friends, and trust them to take care of our needs.

We don't need no stinkin' help from Springfield, thank you very much. In addition, we won't even complain about our tax dollars going to Chicago and East St. Louis to subsidize health care for whoever qualifies. That's just the way we are.

But we don't have to like it.

Schools: Give Us Money; We MIGHT Reduce Fees

We don't pretend to know all of the ins and outs of the Fieldcrest Referendum. We do know ridiculous school administration rhetoric and threats when we hear them:

According to Superintendent Randall S. Vincent, the board has promised to reduce those fees by at least 50 percent if an education tax rate referendum passes in November because, according to a district survey, school fees are a primary concern for those in the community..
"I don't think the fees will ever go away but we can bring them down to the level of other communities in our area," he said. " ... If the referendum passes, the board will definitely cut (participation) fees by 50 percent, but they may do more. If we are in better shape, I'm sure they will consider it (cutting fees further)."

So, in other words, "you can pay me now or you can pay me later, but YOU WILL PAY ME; and if you vote down a referendum, your 'fees' will go up and up and up and we'll still come back again and again and again with referendums 'till we get one passed. You got a problem with that?"

Zogby: Americans Demand Vote Transparency

A new Zogby poll released today shows that 92% of Americans believe that the public has the right to view and verify the counting of votes.

Choosing between "Citizens have the right to view and obtain information about how election officials count votes" or "Citizens do not have the right to view and obtain information about how elections officials count votes," 92% of those polled agreed with the first statement, 6% agreed with the second, and 2% were unsure.

The issue of transparency has become particularly important due to the use of electronic voting systems, most of which use proprietary code and do not allow for public inspection. This is obviously a formula for vote tampering.

Muslim Choice

Two quotations jumped out at us this past week:

"He who wrongs a Jew or a Christian will have me as his accuser on the Day of Judgment."
— Prophet Muhammad

and

"Allah never changes a people's state unless they change what's in themselves"
— Qu'ran (13:11)

No comment from us seems necessary.

Police Need Help?

We have yet to read the "petition" Henry County Sheriff Gib Cady initiated last week asking oil companies to help cut police fuel costs, but we think it's a good idea which doesn't go far enough.

Let's also have petitions to "Big Coffee" and Big Donuts" asking for relief on the outrageous expenses in these areas.

While we're offending our heroic first responders, we find the Woodford county volunteer firefighters demand that Navitas (the wind farm developer) provide about $125,000 to "train" a team of firefighters in handling farm related "emergencies", and buy equipment a little silly. By this logic, any company coming into the County should pay off the firefighters, police, and ambulance services.

Speaking of the wind farm - if the Townships (Greene, Clayton and Panola) are concerned about their roads, and want to work out a side agreement with Navitas, that's fine; however, let's not expect Navitas to pay for the Townships' attorneys to fight with them. That seems to be stretching things a bit, doesn't it?

Congressional Mystery "earmarks" (pork)

The U.S. Congress is considering a bill — the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations measure — that presently contains 1,867 earmarks worth more than a half-billion tax dollars and averaging nearly $268,000 each. Many are for things that sound like worthy causes such as "hospital facilities and equipment," yet none of the sponsoring congressmen put their names on their earmarks, and the specifics are fairly lacking in every instance.

And the winners are - for Illinois, which total $20.83 millions:

$700,000
Joliet
Joliet Junior College for the Integrated Systems Technology program

$500,000
Aurora
Rush-Copley Medical Center for facilities and equipment

$500,000
Peoria
Bradley University, for facilities and equipment for the Collaborative Health and Education Center

$500,000
Peoria
Children's Hospital of Illinois, for facilities and equipment

$500,000
Chicago
Illinois Masonic Medical Center, for facilities and equipment

$500,000
Chicago
Loyola University Center for Public Service for equipment and programming

$500,000
Chicago
Shedd Aquarium for exhibits, and for its community outreach and mentoring initiative

$450,000
Godfrey
Lewis and Clark Community College for its National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

$400,000
Glencoe
Chicago Botanical Gardens, for facilities and equipment at the Center for Seed Conservation and Medicinal Plant Research

$400,000
Chicago
Northwestern Memorial Hospital for facilities and equipment for Prentice Women's Hospital

$400,000
Chicago Heights
St. James Hospital and Health Centers for facilities and equipment

$400,000
Chicago
Access Community Health Network for facilities and equipment

$375,000
Chicago
Chicago Family Health Center, for facilities and equipment

$375,000
Chicago
St. Xavier University for development of an early childhood professional development center and other program enhancements

$355,000
Aurora
Provena Mercy Center for diabetes education and prevention

$350,000
Rockford
Swedish American Health System for facilities and equipment for the Swedish American Health System and Crusader Clinic

$350,000
Chicago
Erie Family Health Center, for facilities and equipment

$350,000
Chicago
Hektoen Institute for Medical Research, for facilities and equipment for a health clinic

$350,000
Chicago
Academy for Urban School Leadership, for the Chicago Academy and Chicago Academy High School, which may include support for resident teachers

$350,000
Grayslake
College of Lake County to develop and implement English as a Second Language instructional classes

$315,000
Kankakee
Helen Wheeler Center for Community Mental Health to increase service capacity

$300,000
Carbondale
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, College of Education and Human Services for the Saluki Kids Academy

$300,000
Chicago
Museum of Science and Industry for its Science in Your World exhibit

$300,000
Jacksonville
MacMurray College for technology upgrades

$300,000
Jacksonville
Passavant Area Hospital for facilities and equipment

$300,000
Peoria
Heartland Community Health Clinic, for equipment

$300,000
Alton
St. Anthony's Health Center for community health center operations

$300,000
Chicago
LaRabida Children's Hospital for education and outreach related to diabetes and sickle cell disease

$300,000
Springfield
Illinois Primary Health Care Association, for electronic medical records systems

$275,000
Chicago
Saint Xavier University for equipment for the Nursing Skills Laboratory in Orland Park

$275,000
Chicago
Chicago Public Schools, for after school and extended learning opportunities

$250,000
Chicago
University of Chicago Hospitals for facilities and equipment for Comer Children's Hospital

$250,000
South Holland
Thornton Township High School District 205 for its Mastery Learning Labs project

$250,000
Wheaton
DuPage County Convalescent Center, for facilities and equipment

$250,000
Highland Park
Opportunity, Inc. to expand the Secure Document Destruction for Disabled Persons Division

$250,000
Chicago
Swedish Covenant Hospital for facilities and equipment

$250,000
Chicago
Rush University Medical Center for facilities and equipment

$250,000
Mattoon
Coles County Council on Aging, for facilities and equipment for the LifeSpan Senior Center

$225,000
Maywood
Loyola University Health System for facilities and equipment

$225,000
Chicago
Children's Memorial Hospital, for a medical records project

$210,000
Arlington Heights
Clearbrook Clinical Services, for services to children with developmental disabilities

$200,000
Peoria
County of Peoria, for facilities and equipment for the Bel-Wood Nursing Home

$200,000
McHenry
Pioneer Center of McHenry County for facilities and equipment for the Senior Residence Center for Adults with Disabilities

$200,000
Chicago
Roseland Christian Health Ministries for facilities and equipment for a health center in Dolton, IL

$200,000
Shelbyville
Sparks College for a closed captioner training program

$200,000
Galesburg
St. Mary's Medical Center for facilities and equipment

$200,000
McHenry
Family Service and Community Mental Health Center, for information technology

$200,000
Lake Villa
Expand its multi-systematic therapy program for Kids Hope United

$200,000
Kewanee
Kewanee Community School District #229, for equipment and technology

$200,000
Naperville
Learning Point Associates/North Central Regional Education Laboratory, to help schools implement No Child Left Behind

$200,000
Des Plaines
Network for Closing the Achievement Gap, for Project AYP in suburban Cook County, IL

$200,000
Chicago
Safer Foundation, for training and support services to ex-offenders

$175,000
Glenview
Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago, for the Early Childhood Connections Outreach Initiative

$175,000
South Holland
South Suburban College for equipment and technology for its allied health and nursing programs

$175,000
Dekalb
Northern Illinois University for its Vibration and Acoustics Center

$150,000
Bloomington
Home Sweet Home Ministries, for facilities and equipment for the residential treatment program

$150,000
Wheaton
Dupage County, for a countywide physical fitness assessment project pilot

$150,000
Brookfield
Community Support Services, for counseling and services for people with developmental disabilities and their families

$150,000
Chicago
Department of Housing for assistance to chronically homeless families

$150,000
Watseka
Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Resident Home, for facilities and equipment

$150,000
Charleston
Eastern Illinois University, for the nursing program

$150,000
Princeton
Bureau County Community Health Clinic, for facilities and equipment

$150,000
Chicago
Home of Life Community Development Corporation, for a financial services training and placement program

$150,000
Kankakee
Riverside Medical Center for equipment

$150,000
Chicago
Heartland Health Outreach for mental health services to refugee children

$125,000
Grundy County
Grundy County Health Department, for facilities and equipment for the Senior Citizen Support Center

$125,000
Waukegan
Christian Outreach of Lutherans (COOL), for Latino leadership development in underserved areas

$100,000
Chicago
Little Black Pearl Art and Design Center, for its Art Smarts after school program and for in-school workshops

$100,000
Chicago
History Makers for digitalization of an oral history archive of interviews with African Americans

$100,000
Moline
Western Illinois University for a counselor education program

$100,000
Naperville
North Central College for the Community Connections Program

$100,000
Lincoln
Lincoln College for the Lincoln Barat Teacher Training Initiative

$100,000
Normal
Illinois State University for Chicago teacher education pipeline programs in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools and City College of Chicago

$100,000
Woodstock
Woodstock Challenger Learning Center for Science & Technology for equipment for the Edventure Area

$100,000
Aledo
Mercer County Hospital for facilities and equipment

$100,000
Lockport
Milne-Kelvin Grove School District 91, for enhanced technology and computing systems and professional development

$100,000
Chicago
Eta Creative Arts Foundation, Inc., for arts education programs

$100,000
Chicago
Center for Community Transformation, to support faculty, student fellowships, and ongoing secular educational activities in community leadership transformation

$100,000
Arlington Heights
Clearbrook, to enhance its residential services for persons with developmental disabilities

$100,000
Chicago
Loretto Hospital, for facilities and equipment

$100,000
Chicago
Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago, for facilities and equipment

$100,000
Decatur
Community Health Improvement Center, for facilities and equipment for the Frances Nelson Community Health Center

$100,000
Decatur
Community Health Improvement Center, for facilities and equipment

$100,000
Fairfield
Frontier Community College to help create a lineman training program

$100,000
Peoria
Peoria School District 150, for the Tapping Future Leaders for Urban Schools Initiative

$75,000
Chicago
Signature Academy Inc. for its Exodus to Excellence After School Youth Program

$75,000
Rock Island
Augustana College for facilities and equipment for its Center for Communicative Disorders

$75,000
Rock Island
Community Health Care, for facilities and equipment

$50,000
Chicago
Broadtree Adventures in Education, for alternative and environmental education programs for at-risk youth

It sure will be nice if and when congressmen/women are forced to sign their names to these spending initiatives!

Open Meetings Act

The Open Meetings Act was revised in a major way effective July 1, 2006. Under the new law, government bodies who maintain their own websites must post agendas of meetings prior to the meeting and must post minutes after the meeting.

By the way, what ever happened to the much vaunted Woodford County Website that was supposed to be happening months ago?

TSA is loosing it.

Here is a graphic from the New York Times that illustrates what the Transportation Safety Administration will now regard as suspicious behavior:
















Ah, yes, the six faces of the terrorist.
We feel safer already.

Straight Talk On School District Taxes

We get so tired of the obfuscation when local school districts decide they need some new buildings, additions, and/or programs.

In some instances, a case can be made on it's merits. Too often though districts rely on sleight of hand when it comes referendum time. Particularly at this time of year come the promises of lower fees with a passed referendum and the concomitant threats of program cuts without one.

If school districts hope to persuade people to vote "yes" on referenda, their leaders and surrogates need to level with the voters about the additional costs.

Instead, what we often hear is something along the lines of "The tax rate will remain unchanged because we are restructuring our bonds", or " We were due to retire our bonds; we're just going to get new ones in the same amount", and "There will be no new taxes".

Of course, they're right about the tax rate, but the 'no new taxes' part simply isn't true. New spending is not free. Additional taxes are needed to repay the bonds. If voters reject the referendum, the property tax rate would go down. One must also remember that even with a level property tax rate, taxes will increase if property assessments increase.

These are simple principles, and the voters are not stupid.

School districts' goals should be to convince voters that the price of a new buildings, programs, or additions are reasonable and necessary, not pretend there will be no extra costs. Trying to fool the voters is probably the quickest way to lose a referendum.

Peter Jennings/Mike Wallace c. 1987

We were stunned, saddened, and disgusted to listen to an audio on clip last night from a 1987 PBS series on "Ethics in America". With apologies for not having access right now to the audio, below is from an excerpt from that March 7th program.

The moderator was Harvard University professor Charles Ogletree Jr. He asked ABC anchor Peter Jennings and 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace what should a TV reporter do if he learned the enemy troops with which he was traveling were about to launch a surprise attack on an American unit?. Both agreed getting ambush footage for the evening news should come before warning the U.S. troops.

For the installment on battlefield ethics Ogletree set up a theoretical war between the North Kosanese and the U.S.-supported South Kosanese. At first Jennings responded: "If I was with a North Kosanese unit that came upon Americans, I think I personally would do what I could to warn the Americans."
Wallace countered that other reporters, including himself, "would regard it simply as another story that they are there to cover." Jennings' position bewildered Wallace: "I'm a little bit of a loss to understand why, because you are an American, you would not have covered that story."

"Don't you have a higher duty as an American citizen to do all you can to save the lives of soldiers rather than this journalistic ethic of reporting fact?" Ogletree asked. Without hesitating Wallace responded: "No, you don't have higher duty...You're a reporter." Jennings immediately caves, conceding, "I think he's right too, I chickened out."

Ogletree turned to Brent Scrowcroft, now the National Security Adviser, who argued "you're Americans first, and you're journalists second." Wallace was mystified by the concept, wondering "what in the world is wrong with photographing this attack by North Kosanese on American soldiers?"

A few minutes later Ogletree noted the "venomous reaction" from George Connell, a Marine Corps Colonel. "I feel utter contempt. Two days later they're both walking off my hilltop, they're two hundred yards away and they get ambushed. And they're lying there wounded. And they're going to expect I'm going to send Marines up there to get them. They're just journalists, they're not Americans."

Wallace and Jennings agreed, "it's a fair reaction." The discussion concluded as Connell said: "But I'll do it. And that's what makes me so contemptuous of them. And Marines will die, going to get a couple of journalists."

Indeed.

Guest Opinion/Editorial - Union Transparency

Ruling clears way for union accountability
By Michael Reitz

As Stephen Covey, the best-selling author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, once said: “Accountability breeds response-ability.” Thanks to a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals, labor unions will finally be required to show some accountability and transparency for how they spend their members’ money—a crucial step in making Big Labor more responsive to its membership.

On August 1, Chief Judge Douglas Ginsburg ruled the U.S. Department of Labor can require state affiliates of the National Education Association to provide detailed financial records to members.

The federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) requires labor organizations to annually file detailed reports, including information about staff salaries and benefits, income, and expenditures. Congress declared the law was “necessary to eliminate or prevent improper practices on the part of labor organizations.”

In 2002, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao undertook a comprehensive effort to modernize regulations that had remained unchanged for 40 years. These union disclosure reports are now posted online, rather than gathering dust in a Washington, D.C. basement.

Union members have benefited from a new era of union transparency. They have learned that labor organizations use their dues for a host of things that have nothing to do with collective bargaining. For example, in 2005, organized labor spent $1.3 million on golf, $7.3 million at plush resorts, nearly $1.3 million for amusement park events, and $641,000 for sporting events. Ironworkers Local 40 in New York spent $52,879 on a new Cadillac for a retiring president. SEIU Local 660 in Los Angeles spent $153,000 on movie tickets.

For the past four decades, federal disclosure requirements applied only to unions that represented private sector employees. Unions that consisted wholly of government employees, such as the Washington Education Association or the Washington Federation of State Employees, were exempt. As a result, millions of union members have no idea how union officials spend their dues.
Secretary Chao addressed this issue by requiring local and state public sector unions to also comply with the law if they are affiliated with a national union that falls under the Act. The implications of this change are enormous and will affect local unions in all 50 states.

Thirty-two affiliates of the National Education Association, including the Washington Education Association, sued to avoid disclosure in 2003. The recent Court of Appeals decision overturned a lower court ruling and stated the U.S. Department of Labor did not exceed its authority by applying federal rules to state government unions. The Court instructed the Department of Labor to reissue its analysis for why the change was necessary. This process will likely require several months to complete.
This ruling brings organized labor a step in the right direction. Washington state’s government collective bargaining agreements mandate union representation for tens of thousands of public employees. These employees are forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment, but have little information about how their dues are spent.

Financial transparency is essential to good stewardship. As a matter of public policy, we give voters access to information about the finances of political candidates. Shareholders of corporations receive regular financial reports. But when union funds are mismanaged, union members are often unknowing victims. Establishing financial disclosure rules for labor organizations will ensure accountability to union shareholders and will reduce the potential for corruption.
Public employees cannot make informed decisions about the benefit of union representation unless they know the details of the union’s income and expenditures.

Unions routinely argue against this level of accountability to their members. The AFL-CIO objected to Secretary Chao’s modernized reporting forms, claiming that compliance would cost organized labor over a billion dollars. In reality, as reported by National Review, the AFL-CIO spent only $54,000 for the bookkeeping and related expenses.

The Washington Education Association actually argued in court that it had no fiduciary responsibility to the teachers it represents. In other words, the union doesn’t have to account to its own members for how dues are spent.

Labor unions will continue to use and abuse their members as long as they are permitted to operate in the shadows. Only accountability will breed the responsiveness the modern labor movement is in such dire need of recapturing, and Washington state can be a leader in this process.

The Washington Legislature need not wait for a federal directive. The American Legislative Exchange Council has state model legislation that mandates disclosure. If the legislature does nothing, however, the U.S. Department of Labor may soon require unions to open their books.

Michael Reitz is legal counsel and director of the Labor Policy Center. He earned a juris doctorate from Oak Brook College of Law in Fresno, California. He is a member of the Washington and California Bars and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Embryonic Stem-Cells For Beauty? Not Pretty!

The British Daily Mail has been writing about the disgusting practice of using Human Embryonic Stem Cells for the ultimate in cosmetic surgery. The cell apparently are very helpful for face lifts. Did someone say slippery slope of growing humans for spare parts?

You may view the latest in the series of articles, here.

Illinois Gubernatorial Poll

Here are the latest poll numbers from Rasmussen Reports:

Date… Blag. Topinka

Aug 7… 45% 37%

Jul 6….. 45% 34%

Apr 18… 38% 44%

Mar 27… 41% 43%

Feb 22… 42% 36%

Jan 25… 37% 48%

These are "likely voters". Just thought y'all might like to see the trend.

Hillary's Primary Bid

The Boston Herald reports:

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Dick Bennett has been polling New Hampshire voters for 30 years. And he’s never seen anything like it.
“Lying b**** . . . shrew . . . Machiavellian . . . evil, power-mad witch . . . the ultimate self-serving politician.”
No prizes for guessing which presidential front-runner drew these remarks in focus groups.
But these weren’t Republicans talking about Hillary Clinton. They weren’t even independents.
These were ordinary, grass-roots Democrats. People who identified themselves as “likely” voters in the pivotal state’s Democratic primary. And, behind closed doors, this is what nearly half of them are saying.
“I was amazed,” says Bennett. “I thought there might be some negatives, but I didn’t know it would be as strong as this. It’s stunning, the similarities between the Republicans and the Democrats, the comments they have about her.”
Bennett runs American Research Group Inc., a highly regarded, independent polling company based in Manchester, N.H. He’s been conducting voter surveys there since 1976. The polls are financed by subscribers and corporate sponsors.
He has so far recruited 410 likely voters in the 2008 Democratic primary, and sat down with them privately in small groups to find out what they really think about the candidates and the issues.
His conclusion? “Forty-five percent of the Democrats are just as negative about her as Republicans are. More Republicans dislike her, but the Democrats dislike her in the same way.”

Hillary Clinton is probably a very beatable Democrat in the primaries but only if someone steps up to the plate.

Mark Your Calendars For Stossel - Redux

The following is a note from John Stossel. Mark your calendars now and spread the word to all your friends and family.

Another bit of good news: Our special on the destructive government monopoly in education, "Stupid in America," will rerun Sept. 1st! This gives me a chance not just to show the surprisingly well-rated documentary again, but also to tell the story of what happened after "Stupid" aired: the teachers union protest, their demand that I teach for a week, my acceptance, and the revealing bureaucratic response to that.

"Stupid in America," 9 p.m. Friday, Sept 1st, (in 20/20's usual time slot)

Illinois Unfunded Liabilities Mess

Just in way of a not so sublte reminder, we present these numbers for your perusal:

Teacher's Retirement System $21,989,800,000
State Employees System $8,810,500,000
State Universities Retirement System $6,999,700,000
Judges Retirement System $671,600,000
General Assembly Retirement System $129,600,000
Total Unfunded Liability $38,601,200,000

Media attention has been focused upon these underfunded systems for which the State is responsible for making contributions. However, there are several other publicly funded systems not accounted for in the above which municipalities and counties fund. Here are their unfunded amounts:

Chicago Police $3,101,300,000
Chicago Fire $1,610,900,000
Cook County Employees $2,750,000,000
Chicago Municipal Employees $2,465,400,000
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund $2,154,200,000
Downstate Police $1,921,800,000
Downstate Fire $1,114,900,000
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District $416,600,000
Cook County Forest Preserve District $158,800,000
Chicago Park District $128,300,000
Chicago Laborers $24,600,000
Chicago Teachers $1,713,500,000
Total Unfunded Liability $17,560,300,000

We've highlighted those applicable to Woodford County. All of these pension systems together carry a cumulative cost of $56,161,500,000 in unfunded liability. In other words, these public pension systems have over 56 billion dollars in obligations for which no money has yet been set aside. To put this into perspective, the Governor's proposed FY 2007 budget calls for 45.4 billion dollars in spending; total!

Letters From: Macon County (Decatur)

One of our buddies down in Decatur writes:
"As taxpayers, it is very discouraging to realize that because our government is not willing to cut their spending, we as taxpayers are forced to cut ours."

We agree. He continues:

We have always advocated lower local taxes, both sales and property taxes. Today (June 19, 2006), we held a rally on the steps of the County Court House to promote a petition drive to call for Lower Property Taxes Now. Decatur and Macon County have some of the highest sales and property taxes in Illinois. If we require more fiscal discipline from our elected leaders, they can "Show Us The Money" and let us keep our taxes.

Blago's "Pre-school For All" (well, for some)

Let's all just agree that the names for the Health Insurance and Pre-School initiatives are political branding, and have nothing to do with really covering expenses "for all". That will save us considerable time and effort.

Now, with regard to the 10,000 or so 3 and 4 year old children proposed to be "guaranteed" pre-school the first year, wouldn't it just make a lot more sense to mandate attendance for 5 or 6 year olds at kindergarten? Illinois doesn't require schooling until a child reaches 7 years old!

Illinois also keeps no statistics what-so-ever on what age children do start kindergarten nor how many skip straight to first grade!

Thus, aren't we putting the cart a bit before the horse with a pre-school initiative? Of course, "Kindergarten for all" just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?