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* Illinois jobless rate falls for 7th month in a row
* Jobless benefits to expire as Congress debates tax
* Report card has Illinois students beating national average
Months before graduation, 4 out of 10 Illinois high school seniors had the skills needed to read proficiently whether they stepped onto a college campus or reported for their first day of work, according to the results of a national exam released Thursday.
In math, about a quarter of the state’s public school 12th-graders who were tested were proficient in such key concepts as using probability to predict an outcome, understanding changes in scale or identifying bias in a data sample.
* Small number of City College students moving on
Only 16 percent of Chicago’s 120,000 City Colleges students transfer to four-year colleges. Fewer than five percent earn bachelor’s degrees. Half of all students seeking degrees leave the system before completing their first 15 credit hours.
* Illinois Ranks 35th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco
* $4.5 Million Federal Grant to Give 1500 Illinois Prisoners’ Kids Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentors
* U.S. Sen. Burris: ‘This is simply unacceptable’
There will be no African Americans in the U.S. Senate when he leaves office at the end of the month, a fact outgoing Sen. Roland Burris called “unacceptable” and “troubling” in his farewell speech Thursday.
* Burris says absence of blacks in next Senate is unacceptable
* Cook County ‘Clout List’ Details How Stroger Regime Rained Jobs on Friends
FOX Chicago News obtained a copy of a “clout list” showing who landed jobs funded by a federal disaster grant. The list details who in county government sponsored the employees and contains information about friends and family already working at Cook County.
The $10.3 million dollar grant was awarded to help residents whose property was damaged by flooding following heavy rains that swept through Cook County in the summer of 2008….
The list contains the names of 31 people who got jobs or contracts funded by the disaster grant. Written in hand beside many of the names are notations such as “father and uncle with county,” “Andrea’s brother,” or “uncle in highway.”
* Preckwinkle: All county leaders must share in 21% spending cuts
Slashing the remainder of that unpopular sales tax hike championed by outgoing Board President Todd Stroger — who was bested by Preckwinkle in the Democratic primary last February — will be on the back burner until 2012. And with a $3 billion government operation whose 24,000 employees make up 80 percent of the budget, layoffs are inevitable, observers say.
* Preckwinkle: County Faces $487M Shortfall
* Preckwinkle sounds alarm on county budget shortfall
* Preckwinkle orders 21% Cook County spending cuts
* Sun-Times: County spending cuts overdue
* Southtown: Property taxes: Little room for sunny outlook
* Kiki Yablon Leaving Reader
Yablon’s departure is not the other shoe falling. “Do an editor and publisher ever see eye to eye on everything?” she asked rhetorically, but she wants it understood her resignation has nothing to do with her relationship with publisher Alison Draper and assistant publisher Geoff Dougherty.
* RTA job search won’t end quickly
* Metra Task Force To Discuss Pollution
* The city that works at Christmas . . . sort of
* U.S. Senate OKs bill against Asian carp
* Kirk To Vote Again on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
* Navistar’s Sharp named to NCC board
* Lisle police chief announces retirement
* Elgin will keep at-large council system
* Citing family, work, Speer won’t run in February in Streamwood
* Buffalo Grove budget expected to drop in 2011
* Malay seeks to replace Richards on St. Charles council
* Boone County Board passes balanced budget for 2011
* Possible Earmark Ban Could Slow Down New I-74 Bridge Project
* Tazewell board OKs raise
* Pekin City Manager Announces Resignation
* Peoria County OKs balanced budget for 2011
* Journal-Star: May the mayor now appreciate the ‘can’ and ‘can’t’ of office
* ICC reduces its tax rate
* Eureka council tentatively OKs tax levy
* Candidates already launching campaigns for April’s local elections
* U. of Ill. faculty: Clout firewall appears to work
* Gary Minish picked as next SIUC provost
* PCCC chairman Coffey to run for mayor of Springfield
* News-Democrat: No veto; let people vote
It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Fairview Heights Mayor Gail Mitchell plans to veto a resolution on term limits. Mitchell has been mayor for 15 years, so he’s going to argue against term limits, not for them.
Still, we urge him to respect the City Council’s decision as well as residents’ ability to choose wisely.
* Madison County to cut 25 jobs
* Jackson County seeks $3 million from bonds
* Walsh victory party Sunday in Lakemoor
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:28 am
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“U.S. Sen. Burris: This is simply unacceptable”
Ain’t that the truth.
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:32 am
It is difficult to not become upset when I hear Roland Burris talk about race and accesability to higher office. Roland bough and paid for his Senate Seat, it was the ultimate inside deal that denied the people thier right to elect a U.S. Senator.
Comment by Moving to Oklahoma Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:33 am
Burris didn’t get the job because he paid for it; he got it because:
– he was willing to accept it after Blago had been arrested for trying to sell it;
– he had no money and everyone knew he had no money, ergo, he obviously didn’t buy it, helping Blago’s credibility in his criminal case;
– the Senate Dem. leadership would not have the guts to block seating the only black senator.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:48 am
ummm, Burris may be insane. but he is correct in pointing out how sad it is that there will not be one african american in the senate.
Comment by bdogg Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:49 am
I don’t feel guilty for what Roland Burris has said (even though I am a privileged white-guy). Illinois has had three of the six African American senators that have ever served. He wasn’t speaking to Illinois, he was speaking to the rest of the country.
Comment by tubbfan Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:49 am
Burris finally says something that makes me nod my head in agreement.
Comment by Bardo2 Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:51 am
i don’t think burris was trying to make “white america” (if there is such a thing) feel guilty. i just think he was pointing out to everybody the fact that there will not be an african american in the senate for awhile. it’s something we all need to think about, no matter our race/ethnicity.
Comment by bdogg Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 10:57 am
Sparing Burris any of the well deserved vitriol that comes to mind, I do wonder why no other state has elected a black senator since Edward Brooke. Heck, if they need a candidate, we’ll give them Burris, or Carol Moseley-Braun. No refunds or exchanges, though.
Comment by Excessively Rabid Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 11:14 am
Since this thread has become about race, i wanted to post something by Malcolm X. Specifically, what I believe is one of the greatest things Malcom X ever said. I think that is why I respect him so much, he could admit that he had been wrong. it is amazing how few people have this quality. the following is from his autobiography, which is an amazing book and well worth reading. The final paragraph is key.
Here is what Malcolm X really believed during his last three years as a Muslim, as qouted by his autobiographer, Alex Haley:
You’re asking me “Didn’t you say that now you accept white men as brothers?” Well, my answer is that in the Muslim world, I saw, I felt, and I wrote home how my thinking was broadened! Just as I wrote, I shared true, brotherly love with many white-complexioned Muslims who never gave a single thought to the race, or to the complexion, of another Muslim.
My pilgrimage broadened my scope. It blessed me with a new insight. In two weeks in the Holy Land, I saw what I never had seen in thirty-nine years here in America. I saw all races, all colors, — blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans — in true brotherhood! In unity! Living as one! Worshipping as one! No segregationists — no liberals; they would not have known how to interpret the meaning of those words.
In the past, yes, I have made sweeping indictments of all white people. I will never be guilty of that again — as I know now that some white people are truly sincere, that some truly are capable of being brotherly toward a black man. The true Islam has shown me that a blanket indictment of all white people is as wrong as when whites make blanket indictments against blacks.”
Comment by bdogg Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 11:28 am
Blacks vote virtually monolithically for Democrats, who have now taken this block of voters for granted, and only use them to advance the Democrat agenda which oftentimes works against the best interests of the black community. Republicans have elected black conservatives, and not just in majority-black gerrymandered districts.
Until blacks realize that Republicans oftentimes stand for the best interests of their community, and begin to support conservative blacks, the influence of blacks will be marginalized. Right now, blacks are ignored by Democrats. Republicans deserve a second look, especially since Republicans are closely aligned with black issues like jobs, EFFECTIVE education, and many social and family issues, which are not really black issues, but mainstream America issues.
Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 11:51 am
Actually I would argue that in Illinois, anyway, the Democrats don’t take the needs of their black constituents for granted, and that would be because they can’t because there are enough elected black elected officials to ensure they are paid attention. As has been mentioned, IL has had more black senators than anyone else. It has a number of black legislators, has and has had black constitutional officers and it’s major city, Chicago has had at a few black mayors. This has been possible in Illinois because blacks don’t stand alone, they work in coalition with other constituents, women, gays, Jews… The point of a coalition is that everyone’s needs within such get some consideration.
It is this coalition political style that I think of when I hear the oft-tossed about phrase Chicago-style politics.
Comment by cermak_rd Friday, Nov 19, 10 @ 4:36 pm