The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board cited Wirepoints’ calculations on the more than 1.2 million students that can’t read at grade level in Illinois and what that means for the state now that politicians have killed the state’s one and only school choice program.
Read the WSJ editorial: School Choice Dies in Illinois
The unions claim the credit drained money from public schools, but public funding has increased nearly $2 billion since Invest in Kids began under former Gov. Bruce Rauner. Only 35% of Illinois children read at grade level, according to Wirepoints, so no wonder there are more than 20,000 children on the Invest in Kids waiting list.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Illinois becomes first state in America to go backward on school choice
- Illinois per student spending jumps to nearly $24K, CPS at nearly $30K.
- 1.2 million Illinois public school children can’t read at grade level, and yet legislature, unions push to kill state’s only school choice program
- 5 facts they don’t want you to know about Illinois’ 2023 student test results
- Poor student achievement and near-zero accountability: An indictment of Illinois’ public education system – Wirepoints Special Report
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
The voter rolls will need to be fully examined before elections in Illinois get anywhere close to legitimate. Having moved from Chicago to the suburbs in the 1980’s , I’d need to go down to Springfield during business hours to examine the rolls to be sure I’m not still casting absentee votes in Chicago’s 13th Ward.
Not only did Welch not even call Invest In Kids up for vote, now you got Sen. Minority Leader Curran claiming the academic results for Invest In Kids are being withheld till after program dies at end of year
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_2b93efaa-8018-11ee-90d6-07deb933a62e.html
If JB has higher political aspirations, killing IKA did a good job of killing those aspirations.
The parasitic vermin leeches of the Chicago Teachers Union are killing their host. In addition to being terrible teachers, they are not even competent parasites.
Correction. It’s not the politicians that killed the program rather it is the voters who elected these politicians that caused the situation.
I don’t think it’s as linear or as simple as you suggest. Those seeking political office may initially run on good intentions and sincere concern for their constituents. They convey their platform, the electorate puts faith in the messaging and then they vote. However, then they arrive in Springfield or DC. The party indoctrination commences immediately. They are given committee assignments. They enjoy the glamor. They become enamored with the trappings of their office, their ego gets stroked and they become tools of the party. It doesn’t matter which one, Republican or Democrat. Over time, they no longer represent the… Read more »
Right on Jajujon. Very few survive the corrupting influence of being in office.
Here’s the problem. When a pol gets elected whether R or D where do their loyalties lie? Are their loyalties for the constituents or to the “Party”?
Depends heavily on the party. There’s virtually no dissension allowed in the IL Dem party in Springfield. But dissension is pretty common in the GOP. Same at the national level, although the Squad does defy leadership sometimes.
Thanks. If I were to rephrase the question. Where SHOULD their loyalties lie.? Any specific pol elected in their district should represent the people to the best of their ability. But the “WILL” of the people seems to be or can be traded as a compromise to other pols and the “Party” as a whole or simply put a bargaining chip. So the pol can trade the will of his people to whatever the party demands of him. Here is how Democracy started and how the people voted https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ancient-greece- democracy P.S. Mark- Are there any plans for you or ant… Read more »
Politics is a dirty business, but at the most basic level, over many years, starting with Madigan, Illinois’ ‘Always Vote Blue No Matter Who’ crowd elected a truly undefeatable one-party political state. The state political apparatuses now don’t answer to anyone but itself. Madigan etc over decades built the machine. But in the past several years, the well-funded progressives usurped the power. Our government political machine is now directly funded by a billionaire with tens of billions of his own dollars and produces absurd election results that would even make Putin or Maduro blush. JB controls the top of the… Read more »
I believe every thing you posted is true including “Over time, they no longer represent the people.” Then, if they no longer represent the people the people should vote them out of office. It is as simple as that. I am always befuddled thinking on how so many people risked their lives so that we have the right to vote and on election day how many are more interested in a ball game caring less about the election. So, while I agree with what you say how things unfold but at the end of the day it is the job… Read more »
Yes, the process should be as simple as voters voting. But in this wretched state, the system is rigged with uncontested elections, gerrymandering whereby the politicians pick their voters, lobbyists who fill reelection campaign coffers, corruption across multiple levels of government, and on and on. Some measure of voters realize their vote doesn’t count, so they don’t bother. Case in point: the recent runoff election for mayor in which only 35% bothered to vote in what one might consider one of the most critical elections of Chicago’s history.
jajujon, it’s the Democrat voters of the state who created these problems. And when Democrats win every election for decades, and rig the rules to further entrench themselves, they become an undefeatable political entity that governs without challenge for generations. It’s a critical bug in our state’s constitution that permits the party in power to change the rules so that opposition parties can’t ever take hold. But none of this would have happened if the voters of IL had, even once in a while, said “Let me choose the R candidate every so often”. They dont’ ever do that. They… Read more »
So tired of this “blame the voters” trope. Elected officials are responsible for their own actions.
Of course you’re tired of it. You want to be a victim instead. The voters are getting the government they deserve.
Democrats are getting the government they deserve. I’m not voting for Democrats. There are plenty of well run local governments with elected conservative officials.
They do work hard at getting the vote out and the others I guess are happy with the way things are. As we saw in a recent Michigan election incumbents can be voted out but people have to go to the polls to do that.
Incumbents were voted out in a heavily Republican western Michigan town. That would and could never happen in most Chicago suburbs that vote D+20 or worse. Maybe in my suburb where it’s only D+10 in a red wave year, maybe, but most places are too far gone. There simply aren’t enough Republican voters left in these places to even vote.
Only way things change for you is to move to a Red State Illinois is gone the way of California and New York never to recover
And then voters can vote them out of office. I might point out that in my downstate area less than half the people vote. At the same time the Democrat prescient committeemen are out seeing that people get to the polls and will give door to door service. The free stuff army is heavily in the lines I assume as to vote for continuation and expansion of their mode of existence. The Democrats work hard the
non-Democrats apparently are satisfied with the way things are so they don’t vote or are simply too lazy to vote or even care.
Carnival barkers, right JB?
Hmm, the public education monopoly is the “Systemic Rasism” the left never has to answer for….
Educational child abuse committed by adults who know better but don’t care enough to change it. Power and money trumps children. Despicable.
This is a terrible reflection on the condition of education in the state.
However, it is at worst a neutral political outcome. Young people who are poorly educated and unable to think critically will vote based upon emotional appeals.
The worst of our political elites offer that first as the primary solution to every problem. If you think they are not in charge, you’re not paying attention.
Never let a crisis go to waste, even a manufactured one, right?