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* Gov. Pat Quinn sent out a press release late yesterday to announce that he was heeding President Barack Obama’s call to raise the school drop-out age to 18…

Gov. Pat Quinn today announced his support for raising the minimum attendance age of students in Illinois schools to age 18.

As part of his ongoing commitment to reform education in Illinois, Quinn said he will propose legislation to the general assembly during the annual State of the State address next week to achieve this goal this year. By answering President Barack Obama’s State of the Union call for states to encourage students to complete their high school education by age 18, the governor said he is taking another step to improve education in Illinois.

“Every child in Illinois deserves a quality education that will serve them throughout their lives,” Quinn said. “The best way to ensure that our children have the chance to achieve and succeed is to make sure they stay in school long enough to earn their diploma.”

With a current minimum dropout age of 17, Illinois is one of 29 states that allow students to drop out of school before they turn 18. President Obama said in his address, when students are not allowed to walk away from school, they are more likely to walk across the stage to receive their high school degree. Research shows that increased educational achievement is not only positively linked to higher lifetime earning potential and stronger economies, but also to lower crime rates.

Quinn said under his proposal, Illinois will take another step toward the goal of increasing the state high school graduation rate. He said, as a result, more students will be better prepared for college or to join the workforce, which will help create jobs and strengthen Illinois’ economy for the future.

Thoughts on this idea?

* Quinn also appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program today with other Democratic governors…

Quinn said Republicans need to put politics aside and work with the president.

“Some of the Republicans need to work with the president for the good of the national economy,” he said.

Quinn cited the payroll tax cut, which will expire in February. In December, some members of the GOP House revolted against a temporary extension of the tax cut, arguing that a full year deal should be negotiated before members left for the holiday.

The Democratic Governors Association is meeting in New York this week. Quinn is the group’s chief fundraiser.

* But all did not go smoothly for Quinn on the cable show…

[Quinn] he couldn’t steer clear of the narrative that he raised taxes on all Illinoisans, then let a few big companies off the hook when they threatened to leave.

That was essentially how host Joe Scarborough framed the issue, asking whether Quinn’s administration was going to bow to Republican pressure to scale back the 67-percent income tax hike the state imposed last year as it struggled with a crushing budget deficit.

“No, we’re not,” Quinn answered, then veered into what the state is doing to invest in new manufacturing jobs. Scarborough pressed back at the tax point—politely, but still—asking if it was fair to say that Quinn gave “big corporations sweetheart deals” in last month’s targeted tax rollback

“I don’t think it’s fair at all” to put it that way, Quinn answered.

The video isn’t online yet. I’ll try to update the post when the vid becomes available.

* Once again, let’s make sure to keep DC bumper-sticker slogans out of comments. There are plenty of websites where you can go all hyperpartisan in comments. This is not one of them. First and final warning.

*** UPDATE *** Oops. I forgot to post the video…

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:08 am

Comments

I can’t imagine that anyone would disagree with having all teens stay in school and graduate. I’d like to know how they plan to enforce attendance until age 18. A teenager who doesn’t want to be in school can do a lot of angry acting out that could be a real problem for the school to deal with.

In all fairness to Quinn, the explanation behind the state income tax increase isn’t something that lends itself to a thirty-second sound bite and Quinn isn’t good at being clear and concise. Scarborough presents himself as a small government conservative who views everything through that lens, so he challenges every elected official on their actions if it involves raising taxes.

Comment by Aldyth Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:21 am
Scarborough raised a fair question. I agree that we can’t just let major corporations flee the state but we need to find something better than the piecemeal approach to giving tax cuts that we are utilizing now.

Comment by Stones Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:22 am
Seventeen is old enough to make the (poor) decision to drop out. If kids reach that age and have zero desire to learn then let them go and focus on those you can teach. After a couple months out of school the kid may pursue a GED with a renewed appreciation of learning.

Comment by Independent Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:22 am
If the drop-out age is upped to 18, then we need to upgrade and update vocational/career education path so that students are learning skills that will get them jobs. Add into the mix opportunities to do internships where they work and get credit towards graduation. Not every student is college-bound but needs good skills in basics and a work ethic.

How that will go in areas with higher unemployment remains to be seen.

Typically, the students I worked with that dropped out needed to get jobs to help support their families. Some felt that high school was not for them and the course work was not helpful.

I retired before this big recession began in 2008.

Comment by Nearly Normal Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:23 am
Joe was primed to hit Quinn, who was sitting in between O’Malley (superstar) and the Delaware gov, and opposite Joe. Joe did not hit the other two like that so he clearly had something on his mind for Illinois. Quinn answered pretty well, and then got into good chatter when he talked about the manufacture of the Dart, “my grandmother’s car,” as Joe put it with Mika amused. so it ended with some good cheer.

Comment by amalia Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:25 am
Nice points, Nearly Normal. Our schools are geared toward the college-bound and remedial with little in between. Boys are more hands-on in their learning and cutting shop classes and vocational programs was the worst thing we could have done. Restore those programs and boys may not be so bored at school and inclined to drop out.

Comment by Independent Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:29 am
Agree with Independent. People have made not going to college something to be ashamed of. Nothign is wrong with trades. I know people who live well as bus drivers, plumbers, etc.

Didn’t the GOP try to extend the payroll for 1 year (with some added things in there), but the Senate refused to meet. THey passed their 2 month extention and went home?

Comment by Wumpus Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:35 am
Let the teens drop out if they wish. Teaches them that there are consequences, good and/or bad, to every decision in life. It’s not the state or federal government’s job to ensure that all 330 million Americans make good choices at every step of their lives. Raising the dropout age just keeps kids who hate school in the classroom longer, making things worse for those who DO want to learn. Not sure what this is really supposed to accomplish in the short or long term.

Comment by beserkr29 Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:38 am
Be Cool, Stay in School (at least until you’re 18, by which time — unless you’ve got a high school diploma — you’d better get over the idea of being cool, ’cause you’re gonna be working for tips at the car wash.)

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:40 am
I think it was a fair question to ask. Quinn told Scarborough he would not roll back the tax hike because Illinois has bills to pay. Then when Joe asked about tax breaks for certain companies, Quinn looked uncomfortable and said this was necessary for jobs. I can’t see how one tax hike is necessary revenue, yet the other isn’t. If it’s really about jobs, Quinn should never have raised the corporate tax rate to begin with.

Comment by Wensicia Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:42 am
I guess at some level I think the drop out age is a state level issue, not a federal issue.

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:42 am
Raising the dropout age is fine, but I wonder if it really addresses the problem.

Does high school have to be four years. Why not experiment with, say a five or six year program whereby kids get a combine hs and community college degree, the latter preparing them for a vocation or for a masters program. A friend’s child on the West Coast did high school and a BA in six years, got accepted to masters programs and probably escaped dropping out from high school from boredom.

Comment by Cassandra Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:44 am
What is the penalty if a kid walks away from school before the dropout age? Oh that’s right the local agencies go after him if they are still around after not being paid by the state.

This administration and GA have probably passed more unfunded mandates than any other in history. They are great at telling people how to live but if it will cost money they don’t pony up.

They want to do everything they can to look busy because they don’t want to face the real issues and try to solve them. Typical pre-election conduct in Madiganistan.

And Yes, I think it is fair to call Quinn out on the bailouts for large corporations. This is one of those tough decisions that has the Governor and the GA hiding behind rear seatbelt laws, and raising the age when you can drop out, etc. etc. CME and Sears were two separate situations. They should have been looked at in a comprehensive plan that would make it plain to all how a business gets a bailout and when they don’t. If I am a CEO of a business I want to know what the rules are in the place I am going to build. If taxes are going to be at a certain level and that is equal across the board then I know what I am dealing with. I think the uncertainty of what is going happen has more of an effect on businees leaving than the tax rate.

Comment by Irish Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:45 am
It is a pipe dream to keep kids in a second longer that they want, so I will smoke a little too. Under 18 and want out of school? Make a requirement that you have to have a job to leave. Even if it is at McDonalds, maybe especially if it is at McDonalds. Work 40 hours there and decide where you want to be. If work is cool, great. If not go back to school.

Comment by jeff Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:46 am
I can’t see any reason not to raise the dropout age to 18. You can’t force a teenager to go to school, of course, but you could perhaps delay or yank their driver’s licenses if they’re chronically truant or not making progress toward graduation.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:46 am
Since most students graduate at or before the age of 18, this is just political posturing. All this does is keep the most behaviorally challenged students around for another year to disrupt the education of students on track to graduate on time.

Comment by Wensicia Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:46 am
I agree with the age of 18 to stay in school.
These kids are not of legal age, they are too young to realize that not having a High School diploma will hurt them the rest of their life.

A GED is not as good as a High School diploma, and when the job market gets tough, eliminating all the resumes of people who don’t have a High School diploma cuts down the amount you have to go through. With so many going to college or trade school after a High School Diploma, a High School diploma is like having a grade school diploma.

Comment by 3rd Generation Chicago Native Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 9:57 am
I think we need to get past the traditional “four years of high school for everyone” mode. It worked for most people but not all. Totally agree that not everyone is college bound and the trades are not to be slighted. When you need a plumber when your toilet backs up you could care less if he took college courses!!

When the state raised the graduation requirements to add another year of English, math, and science, that was the death knell for some vocational courses with smaller enrollments. The students who needed more hands on lost out.

Comment by Nearly Normal Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 10:01 am
The last time quinn was in nyc he appeared on scarborough and I thought the interview went really well for Quinn. He bragged about the job picture in Illinois at that point.

Comment by Shore Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 10:19 am
How many of the kids who would have dropped out when they’re 17 will end up graduating a year later?

Seems like a simplistic solution to a very complicated problem that may end up wasting the time and more importantly money on kids who don’t want to be there, depriving the kids who do.

Comment by Frank Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 10:46 am
Forcing teachers and staff to put up with 18 year
olds is a rough job.We will be building separate
high schools just to house them.The trades must be taught in high schools,if we are to go back a manufacturing in Illinois we need certian skills
taught in school. A person with great math skills
may not have an aptitude for plumbing,woodworking
electrical wiring,or masonary.Some for profit colleges and trade school just are diploma mills.
As we have seen on TV there are plenty of dirty jobs.

Comment by mokenavince Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 10:56 am
This is another unfunded mandate. We will not increase overall funding for schools, but we want them to keep bad students around longer. We have now tied teacher evaluations to student performance. Now you want to stick the teachers with more bad kids without resources to educate them.

If you are not close to graduating by 17, you are not going to graduate at 18. The reality is, the kids that get behind and will graduate stick around past 18 anyway. You are only going to delay the inevitable.

Typical Democrat plan. Saddle someone else with a problem you can’t provide them with the resources to solve.

Comment by the Patriot Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 10:56 am
Let’s step back a minute, what does a high school diploma really mean? My son graduated valedictorian in his class and he has the same piece of paper as the kid that graduated last. By itself there will probably be unintended consequences. The one that bothers me most is having the schools dumb down even more to meet this mandate. Having a higher graduation rate might not translate into more educated students. What we need is some strategy to motive students in this country to excel instead of just staying in school to get a piece of paper.

Comment by RetiredStateEmployee Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 11:08 am
Yeah upping the age where you can drop out is small beans. This doesn’t address the issue of why young people drop out of school. What are you going to do with those that don’t want to be at school? They’ll just continue to cut class and miss out on important time in class. Forcing them to stay in school until they turn 18 isn’t a solution.

Comment by Levois Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 11:20 am
It’s is fair to say Quinn raised taxes on everyone then gave breaks to a few large corporations that balked. This pick and choose who pays what taxes is a joke and bad policy. I understand that everyone else is doing it. But like mom used to say that doesn’t make it right.

Comment by Fed up Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 12:39 pm
Honestly I dont think raising the school leaving age to 18 will make any noticeable difference to the graduation rate. By the time most of this students hit 16, they already have serious problems in relationship to school that making them stay there 2 more years is not going to fix. Everyone I went to high school with that dropped out by the time they were 16 they had failed so many classes it wasn’t possible for them to graduate on time anyway.
You want to help these kids, we need to find better ways to get them before they reach the point would drop out a 16. In some case we need to be better at working family to change cultural issues that might place to low of value on education.

Comment by RMWStanford Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 1:14 pm
===Typical Democrat plan. Saddle someone else with a problem you can’t provide them with the resources to solve.===

What does that even mean? Tying schools to student performance was a Rebuplican initiative (does W’s No Child Left Behind ring any bells?). And one of the biggest complaints of that law was and remains the lack of adequate funding to meet its onerous requirements.

I agree with your point that it’s not likely that kids who weren’t going to graduate at 17 would be more likely to graduate at 18, and I also agree that we need to up school funding. But, I’m pretty sure school funding isn’t the root of your complaint. At least you should be aware where the problem you are complaining about came from.

Comment by TwoFeetThick Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 2:52 pm
Obviously, I meant “Republican.” Sorry, new phone control problems.

Comment by TwoFeetThick Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 2:56 pm
==asking if it was fair to say that Quinn gave “big corporations sweetheart deals”==

Absolutely, totally unfair. CME makes a ton of money, but it is not a big corporation.

Comment by anonymice Friday, Jan 27, 12 @ 3:28 pm