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Quinn touts school breakfasts, while cutting the program

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Illinois

* AP…

Gov. Pat Quinn goes bananas almost every day.

The Chicago Democrat said Wednesday he often breakfasts by peeling the potassium-packed fruit.

He spoke to reporters after announcing the winners of the Illinois School Breakfast Challenge. The competition challenges schools to increase participation in the school breakfast program. Winners attended an afternoon event at the Executive Mansion in Springfield.

Quinn said he also added some scrambled eggs to break his fast Wednesday.

* However…

But the event comes after he’s proposed some steep cuts to school nutrition.

The governor’s budget calls for $400 million in cuts to education. Out of education cuts comes $5 million from free school breakfast and lunch programs.

Governor Quinn shifted the blame saying, “Obviously our pension challenges. Our foremost fiscal challenge in Illinois. It’s squeezing out money in the classroom.”

He’s hyping a program that he’s cutting, without mentioning it. Marvelous.

* Meanwhile…

The percent of Illinois students who are homeless or living in poverty has grown in recent years.

The Illinois State Board of Education reported Wednesday the proportion of low-income students grew from 37.9 percent to 49 percent between 2003 and 2012.

The ISBE says the spike in low-income students and those with limited English has led to increased costs for school districts. But state funding for education has decreased by more than $861 million, or nearly 12 percent, since the budget year that started in July 2008.

So, we have more homeless school kids while the governor is cutting breakfast programs, but there he was yesterday touting the breakfast program and talking about how he likes to eat bananas in the morning.

* Related…

* About 50 Chicago public schools to face closure: City Hall sources

* 3 relatives of UNO boss on payroll of charter school operator

* Illinios State Senator Wants To Help High Performing High School Students

* Schools as polling places may become optional

* Manar proposal would expand opportunities for school consolidation

* Illinois’s Credit Rating Is the Worst in the Nation: Three Reasons You Should Care

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 9:52 am

Comments

Wow Rich, how about a little pressure on the legislators that refuse to make difficult decisions to save money on pensions?

I suppose they get a free pass because PQ isn’t “leading” them?

Comment by Small Town Liberal Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 9:57 am
Gov. Pat Quinn goes bananas almost every day.

disappointing they couldn’t work dole into the next paragraph.

Comment by shore Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:25 am
Just curious, how do these students who depend on the schools for their meals subsist on the weekends, during holidays, and during the summer?

Do they still go to schools on those days to eat?

Comment by Willie Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:25 am
@Willie,

Our school district offers free breakfast in select schools for all who qualify during the summer.

I wonder if Quinn realizes how many students depend upon school meals as their only source of nutrition during the school day.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:34 am
- I wonder if Quinn realizes how many students depend upon school meals as their only source of nutrition during the school day. -

Yes, which is why he’s promoting the program.

Maybe if more families participate, our lawmakers will wake up to the consequences of their inaction.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:37 am
“Just curious, how do these students who depend on the schools for their meals subsist on the weekends, during holidays, and during the summer?”

Willie, Many of them go hungry, if they aren’t lucky enough to get support through churches or other programs that feed kids.

Comment by Crafty Girl Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:38 am
===Maybe if more families participate, our lawmakers will wake up to the consequences of their inaction. ===

Whatever.

This is a proposed $5 million cut. He could find that under the state’s couch cushions.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:39 am
“There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies.”

Winston Churchill

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:40 am
Maybe if parents upset about this would feed their kids! I don’t agree with a lot of goverment programs, but this idea of feeding kids is one I support. Instead of paying farmers not to grow, take the surpluss crops and send it to schools. Sounds like the kids should lobby Mike Madigan or at least hire the same lobbyists that the unions have.

Comment by Wumpus Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:43 am
Is Gov. Quinn cleverly laying the groundwork for a post-government job at The Onion?

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:47 am
“Illinois’s Credit Rating Is the Worst in the Nation: Three Reasons You Should Care”

I can’t resist: this is someone’s 2018 (2020?) campaign comeback story. (Fourth reason we should care?)

Still need more coverage on rating the raters.

Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr. Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:50 am
It would have been great if at the event yesterday, Quinn would have been able to add that the state is maintaining/increasing its investment in school breakfast. That would show real leadership. The “good job, see what you can do with less” message this is sending is bad policy and bad politics.

To the question about summer, there are summer feeding programs that far too few kids utilize for a number of reasons. The bottom line is that many kids that get two meals a day in school eat a lot less in the summer.

Comment by Montrose Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 10:52 am
===Maybe if more families participate, our lawmakers will wake up to the consequences of their inaction. ===

A main reason families don’t participate is because the set-up at the school makes it hard. For example, when you have breakfast before the bell, many kids cannot get there early enough to access it. The folks that were recognized yesterday probably were using models like breakfast in the classroom after the bell that made it easier to for kids to partake. Resources are needed to make it so parents/kids can participate. Don’t put Quinn’s cut on the parents.

Comment by Montrose Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:01 am
- Don’t put Quinn’s cut on the parents. -

I didn’t, I put them on the $6.1 billion pension payment.

Maybe the $5 million is chump change in the scheme of things, but I see a lot of cuts like that in this budget, and I don’t see a lot of frivolous programs.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:08 am
I have no solution to this.

I live in a rural downstate area with a fairly high concentration of low-income folks who receive some kind of assistance or another.

As a fasical conservative I’m not anxious to declare school breakfasts a “right” that must be provided.

But I definitely see kids in our area that aren’t being well-nourished.

And the problem is certainly compounded over Spring Break, Winter Break, Summer Break, etc…

However, truthfully, the quality of the school-supplied food is often not that great (not the fault of the school folks - they’re just trying to stretch a dollar) and many kids that should be eating a good breakfast won’t just because they don’t like the food. So a high percentage of the food that gets prepared and offered to the kids is wasted.

Since I can’t find a better solution for the whole breakfast-in-school thing so I just make sure we actively support our local food pantry and help keep them stocked up with plenty of halfway decent cereal (something halfway between wood chips and choco-bombs), and poptarts and such.

Comment by BleugrassBoy Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:10 am
While we all agree that people shouldn’t be having kids they can’t afford to take care of, the reality is that those kids are here. If a child hasn’t eaten breakfast and his first meal is the free lunch he gets at noon, he’s not going to be focused on learning reading, writing and math. He’s going to be focused on being hungry. These kids brains are still developing and they need the food to make that happen properly.

We can blame the parents all we want, but a poorly fed child will likely be a poorly educated child. He’ll grow up to be a minimally employable adult.

One of the best ways to break that cycle of poverty in a world that doesn’t have much employment for the poorly educated is to make sure that kids have food.

For heaven’s sake, just find the money and feed the kids.

Comment by Aldyth Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:10 am
-I didn’t, I put them on the $6.1 billion pension payment.-

Got it. Sorry for the misread.

Comment by Montrose Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:15 am
Gov. Pat Quinn goes bananas almost every day.

The Chicago Democrat said Wednesday he often breakfasts by peeling the potassium-packed fruit.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Old saying:

“You are what you eat.”

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you%20are%20what%20you%20eat.html

Comment by Cincinnatus Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:18 am
Based on 2010 census data as reported in the LA Times:

During the year 4% of the poor became temporarily homeless. Forty percent live in apartments, less than 10% in mobile homes or trailers and about 50% live in standard one-family homes. In fact, 42% own their own home.

The vast majority are in good repair, with more living space per person than the average non-poor person in Britain, France or Sweden.

Ninety-six percent of poor parents say their children were never hungry during the year due to an inability to afford food.

Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning and 92% have a microwave.

One-third of poor households have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV, 70% have a VCR and two-thirds have satellite/cable TV, the same proportion as own at least one DVD player.

Half of the povery households have a personal computer and one-in-seven have two or more.

And half of those with children have a video game system like Xbox.

Almost 75% have a car or truck and nearly a third have two.

Comment by Liberty_First Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:35 am
Liberty - That summary is based on a Heritage Foundation “study” of census data. If you believe being poor is such a sweet ride, maybe you should try it for a while.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:55 am
Surprised to see so many folks on this thread who seem to be against providing our young students with reduced price public school breakfast if they are need-qualified. It is hard to pay attention to the teacher when your stomach is growling.

Comment by Jake From Elwood Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 11:56 am
I wonder if the Governor puts bananas and soy milk on top of his breakfast cereal.

Comment by Leatherneck Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:03 pm
A single parent who works for minimum wage at 40 hours per week only earns $17,000 per year. That’s about even with the federal poverty line assuming it’s only one child.

Liberty First, you think air conditioning and an Xbox are luxuries for a family who works full time but still can’t get out of poverty?

Yes, let’s make them sell their TVs before we feed them.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:04 pm
I think some people believe to be considered poor should mean you have nothing and are basically living inside a cardboard box before you or your children deserve assistance, whether you work full time or not.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:15 pm
I find the phrase nanny-state hilarious.

I suspect those who use it envision themselves as Lewis and Clark or something, boldly venturing forth into the unknown every day, completely self-reliant.

In reality, they’re just regular schmucks like the rest of us, using the same community services and infrastructure everyone does.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:27 pm
===envision themselves as Lewis and Clark or something===

Unless they knew the expedition was actually government-financed.

Just sayin…

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:32 pm
Here in Springfield, the USDA is funding a free-meal for all program that includes breakfast for schools that are considered high poverty schools. All 18 qualifing schools are 100% federally funded.
http://www.behealthyspringfield.com/sections/local-news/usda-funds-free-meals-in-pilot-program-at-city-public-schools

Comment by SG8prl Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:41 pm
I meant the meal programs were 100% fed. funded - not the schools themselves. These same schools are part of the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable initiative also.

Comment by SG8prl Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:48 pm
==Here in Springfield, the USDA is funding a free-meal for all program that includes breakfast for schools that are considered high poverty schools.==

Our school district is in the second year of the same program. Our poverty levels are so high it’s cheaper to provide for all than pay for the processing of paperwork for every student/family. As mentioned in the article, free meals are provided during the summer.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:52 pm
I support the breakfast program for the families whom qualify.

Some of our rural small school educators have told me they believe there are families within their schools whom are abusing the program. I don’t recall the examples, but it seemed to occur mostly with divorced families and how they report income per household.

Comment by Endangered Moderate Species Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 12:53 pm
@EMS:

I would refer you to a couple of the comment above. At the school my children go to anybody can eat breakfast. It’s a very high poverty school and the USDA has a program to provide food for everyone that wants it. Besides, I’m not sure how eating breakfast “abuses” anything.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 2:03 pm
Not sure whether today’s CPS closure announcement will get its own posting, but in case it doesn’t… just want to say I thought it was bad optics for Rahm to time the CPS school closure announcement while he is out of town on a Utah skiing vacation.

Also, with the Chicago archdiocese closing several schools this year too, has anyone explained where all these kids are going to go?

Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Mar 21, 13 @ 2:26 pm