compass [summer 2013] power of school choice

7/28/2019 Compass [Summer 2013] Power of School Choice

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John Tillman

Te batte ccice i Iii ive

Fighting the progressive tax

Epi te et aj ta ab i IiiPizza with a purpose

Cica etepee etaatbie ad ivet i pepe

IllInoIs PolICy InsTITuTE | summEr 201

c mpassInside: majit e: libet Jtice Cete i vti ca

PowEr o sChool ChoICETHE
http://www.illinoispolicy.org/http://www.illinoispolicy.org/


2/28

About usThe Illiis Plic Istitute ispies chaes i heats, mids ad laws thuh its missi t pmte pesaleedm ad pspeit i Illiis ad Ameica. As a leadi idepedet, 501(c)(3) eseach ad educati aizati, theIlliis Plic Istitute eeates psitive ad sustaiable plic slutis citizes ad lawmakes that help uleash taletad etepeeuial abilit.

190 S. LaSalle St., Suite 1630, Chica, IL 60603 312.346.5700 | 802 S. 2d St., Spield, IL 62704 217.528.8800

iide

compass

4J Tia:Te ft c cice ive Illinois Policy Institute CEO reects on a 2010Illinois voucher bill and the need to continuepushing or educational choice.

6iti te peive ta eapti a ppe IiiExecutive Vice President Kristina Rasmussendiscusses the fght against a progressive incometaxin Springfeld.

8Cve t Te pe cice:c cice cae iveThis story outlines school choice legislation inneighboring Indiana and Wisconsin, and ollowsthe journey o an Indiana amily whose fvechildren have access to private schools throughtheir states voucher program.

11libet e diita: eadi te pack

it cabe pic e adeeacCheck out great tweets rom our growingcommunity.

12Betti Iii: Pizza it a ppeChicago entrepreneur and restaurateur DimitriSyrkin-Nikolau is expanding his presence in theWindy City.

14Decac eted: libet JticeCete vidicate ctittia it cit macb citizeLJC won its frst major victory in a case centeredin Macomb, Ill.

15Iii pei: a te bit p ieIn March, the Securities and ExchangeCommission charged Illinois with securities raud.The truth is the states pension systems have beenoperating dishonestly or years.

16Bdet sti 2014 e Iiieiat a adap t ecicecveRead more about the Illinois Policy Institutesalternative budget and pension reorm plan.

17obtcted vie: Iii 102 ctie tapec aditOne o the best protections against corruption istransparency and the Illinois Policy Institutes10-Point Transparency 102 county onlinetransparency audit yields disappointing results.

20Pic ad itiati cete pdateFind out what our policy and litigation centers havebeen working on.

21leiative pdate: a k at atappei i spifedThe Illinois Policy Institute fghts hard or reemarket policy in the state capital.Heres the insidscoop on whats happening in Springfeld.

22It tie Iii piticia t ebacec ciceEAGnews.org Publisher Kyle Olson is passionatabout school choice and says its time Illinoipoliticians were, too.

23Iii ne netk: diabiit peiivetiati pevieJournalist in Residence Scott Reeder reporton pension disability abuse in his frst majoinvestigation or ilnews.org.

24mebe ptitChicago native Lisa Tesarik shares why shsupports the Illinois Policy Institute.

25EvetCheck out photos and details rom our Preparingor the Known and Unknown event with CrossFCEO Greg Glassman and more.

26Beci a ebe te Iii PicItitte i a ivetet i eed

27Epet ptit: Kitia raeKristina Rasmussen is the executive vice presideno the Illinois Policy Institute.


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Edit teDaiel Ath | Cmpass Edit-i-Chie

The power o school choice

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Ma amilies i Illiis eel tapped whe the ae ced t sed thei kids t aili schls. Ude the cuet public schlsstem, these amilies ae limited i thei chices ad ma have pwe t leave. Ftuatel, a edesi educatialsstems is happei i sme states ad cities, such as Idiaa ad Milwaukee. But t i Illiis. A vuche pam culdmake a dieece thusads kids ad amilies i u state. That is wh the Illiis Plic Istitutes dedicati t schlchice is the sptliht this issue Cmpass. Illiis dest have such a vuche pam et. S as u ead this editi,keep i mid thse amilies ad kids with pwe t exit. Hee ae sme the the hihlihts m this issue:

Cover storyTe pe cice: ccice cae iveSchl chice pams such aschates ad vuches ae takieducati b stm. Stud ate studhas shw chice pams impveeducatial utcmes, eve i sme the cuts mst challeicmmuities. But me imptatl,these pams ae ivi paetsad studets chice ad ctl vethei educati allwi them t da place t lea that best suits theipesal ad uique eeds.

Diaa ricket, pae 8

Pizza with a purposeCica etepee etaatbie ad ivet i pepeUltimatel, pt is what mattes items a busiess success. But thatst the wa u shuld jude success.I als jude success b di ihtb the peple wh wk hee ad ueihbhd u al is t ceatesuccess the emplees ad thecmmuit wee ivlved i.

Diiti ski-nika, pae 12

Obstructed views:102 ct ie tapaecadit ied diappiti etoe the best ptectis aaistcupti is taspaec, ad itdas diital ae e the easiestwas vemet t be pe adaccutable is thuh psti publicdcumets the Iteet.

Bia Cti, pae 17
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4/284 | SUMMEr 2013 | ILLInoISPoLICy.org

I Ma 2010, the Illiis Huse repesetatives vted dw the 2010vuche bill. M hpes had bee hih this bill, because I kew what schlchice wuld mea Illiis amilies.

Vuches mea eedm m ailischls; the pssibilit studetsad amilies chsi thei w pathistead bei stuck with the ailistatus qu. I kew this bill wuld pvidehpe ad pssibilities thusads Illiis studets, ad at the IlliisPlic Istitute we wked tielessl tpass this vuche bill.

But i the ed, the Illiis geealAssembl ailed t make chice aealit. I elived this heatbeak dui aecet vacati whe I e-ead a pieceI had published i the Chica Tibueshtl ate the 2010 vte (see page 5).

The emtis I elt ate e-eadithis aticle emided smethia acquaitace ce said abut aamazi speech he had head. He said,

I dt emembe exactl what wassaid, but I will eve et hw it mademe eel. F me, that eeli was awemti, the emti ispiati thatiiall mtivated me it acti schl chice.

The i hee is that emembei thespecic wds ad phases did tmatte it was the depth ad sustaiedeelis that matteed. Ad et it wasthe wds, ad the skill thei delive,that ceated the emtial cectivitthat ceated acti.

We eed the wds the plic butwe eed the emtial sttelli thatsticks mst all.

I will eve et hw stulimms ad dads made me eel i theidespeate seach a pathwa ut vilet cities with schl cultues thatidctiated ailue ad hpelessessathe tha aspiati ad achievemet.

Thats wh the ht educatial eedm emais eve me imptat tda.The dds ae l ad the es ae st. Uis such as the Chica TeachesUi, CTU, have becme me adicalized ad militat.

yet am the me tha 20,000 teaches at Chica Public Schls, CPS,ae lde apples wh ae chai kids lives the bette. I thei classmsae childe wh will e da becme adults; sme them will have aspied thih stadads ad will have achieved eat this. Ad whe the thik back thei CPS das, the will t thik the ailues, the will t thik the vilece,the will t thik CTU Pesidet Kae Lewis ad the wt emembe a lt specic this the head i class.

Istead, the will thik the eelis, the hpes, the deams, ad thei desie taspie ad achieve that sme miaculus lde apple a teache labi i theCPS sstem made happe him he.

Pat teachi ad pat all classms must be t ace the tuth. The tuthi Chica ad aud t ma schls i Illiis is that thee ae t euh

lde apples wh ae chai kids lives the bette. Smetimes it is becausethe peple wh ae teachi shuld t be teachi the challee Chicaad all the dsucti ae just t much sme. Ad smetimes eat teachesae subsumed b the dsucti the bke educatial bueaucac ad thebecme bke themselves.

I the ed, it dest matte wh this happes. What mattes is that we catsetece athe eeati studets t aili schls ad dicult utues.

We cat wait the aiess ad justice due t Illiis childe. We mustempwe the childe ad thei paets with the eedm t seek the best teachesad educatial pptuities, wheeve the ma be.

The fght or school choice lives onJ Tia | CEo



Jh Tillma | CEo

She was a quiet, diied Aica-Ameica, pehaps eal 40s. He ees

had spak ad she seemed detemied,bth d sis. But the despeati ihe vice was vepwei.

I eed me t mve.

I was just 23 eas ld the, a kiemaaemet taiee leai hw titeview pspective sales peple the call cete whee I wked.

Wh d u wat t mve? Iicetl asked.

Ate all, e wakes up i the miseeki a call-cete caee. Thechse t wk i call cetes becausethe ca make d me quickl ithe ca sell. I kew that despeatitus ma quiet peple, like thiswma, it teacius salespeple.

I eed t mve t et m kids awam the as, she asweed.

It was 1982 ad I was sitti i ace just th Eiht Mile rad,the bde betwee Detit ad

Sutheld, Mich., made amus bthe appe Emiem. I kew a bit abutwhat the wma meat; I lived i amaial eihbhd ea WaeState Uivesit. Bad this happeedeulal. Lki at he addess, I kewhe eihbhd was much wse.

Have u eve sld athi bee?

n, but I ca lea.

I dt emembe much me abut he.I dt eve emembe i I hied he.

But this is hw I st leaed abutschl chice. The mem thatwma came fdi back t me last

Wedesda as I listeed t the IlliisHuse debate the ate 30,000 childe

lauishi i sme Chicaswst pemi schls. Seate Bill2494 wuld have established a piltschl-vuche pam i Chica tpvide p studets with pptuitschlaships t atted bette pivateschls.

The bill had passed the Illiis Seatewith bipatisa suppt.

This shuld have bee a laup Demcats ad republicas i theHuse.

It wast. It wuldt have cst sububaschls me, it wuld have heldChica Public Schls accutable the ailue its schls ad it wuldhave ive paets a hti chace tive thei childe a bette educati.

I sat stued whe it became evidetthat the bill wuld ail. I thuht thatquiet, detemied wma m 1982. Itwas a heatbeaki mmet.

Illiis paets wee pleadi a

chace t sed thei childe t betteschls.

yu cat have it, said the IlliisHuse repesetatives. The bttmlie is this: The Illiis EducatiAssciati ppsed this bill, as did theIlliis Fedeati Teaches ad theChica Teaches Ui.

Keep i mid wh said es t kids,ad wh said es t ui lbbists.nvembe is t t a .

Voting in favor of bad schoolsOriginally published on May 12, 2010, in the Chicago Tribune

Educatial eedm, which ca lbe accmplished with paetal chicead empwemet, is e the eatmal causes u time.

We have the mal hih ud adwe must ca the ht wad t setthe childe ee. T lea me abutwhat we ae di t et clse tthis al, please visit illiisplic./schlchice.

Ad ext time u dive b a schl iu eihbhd u ca see it iu mids ee w thik abut theteaches thee. The thik abut theschls kids wh ae etei eveda the suth ad west sides, i

Decatu, i East St. Luis, i rckd all aud this state. Wuld u sedu kids thee istead the schlu dive b eve da?

I the aswe is , the this is a causeu shuld take up tda.



a cstitutial amedmet the 2014 ballt that wuld eplace Illiis faicme tax with a pessive ate stuctue.

But hees the catch the amedmet wuldt dee what that ew stuctuewuld lk like. The al backets ad ates culd be a me puitive tha iitialladvetised, ad thee wuld be thi t stp them m etti wse as timees .

Trust me.

Thats hw sme Illiis pliticiaspla selli thei ext tax ab tIlliis vtes.

Backed b vemet wke uis,ma state lawmakes wat t put

Fighting the progressive tax means promotinga prosperous Illinois economy Kistia rasmusse | Executive Vice Pesidet



Kistia rasmusse | Executive Vice Pesidet

Illiis pliticias dt exactl have a steli ecd whe it cmes t liviup t a simple tuth i advetisi stadad while pushi ew laws. Theake spedi cap ad tempa tax hike passed i 2011 ae pime examples the dishest maketi t cmml used t advace uppula ideasi Spield.

A pessive tax wuld be bad Illiis taxpaes ad the ecm as a

whle, as detailed i the Illiis Plic Istitutes special ept, Pessiveicme tax: Me ab disuised as tax em, i octbe 2012 (lea me atilliisplic./taxab). I act, ude a pessive tax 85 pecet Illiisaswuld see thei taxes up.

But bed the umbes, it is wth stessi that a pessive tax is at itsce mall uai.

A pessive tax is pedat ad discimiat, pupseull taxi smepeple, ad sme icme, at a dieet ate tha thes. Thees d easa dlla thats eaed at $55,000 wuld be taxed me tha a dlla eaed at$50,000 et thats what a pessive tax wuld d. Icme eaed at hihelevels wuld iceasil t the Tax Ma.

We kw that a pessive tax is desied t eed sak the ichicliatis; but the tuth is that a pessive tax actuall huts the p addisadvataed.

Wh?

Sud tax plic shuld ewad et, savi, ivestmet, isk-taki adetepeeuship t pmte sel-sustaii pspeit. Whe u puish thseimpulses with a pessive icme tax, u et ewe pptuities pei up the ve peple s despeatel seeki t ise.

Paul gupp, vice pesidet eseach at the Washit Plic Cete, putsit this wa: A state-level pessive icme huts the p ad wki classpeple because it makes thei state less attactive t busiess ivestmet adjb pptuities.

gupp kws this issue well; his aizati helped t deeat Iitiative 1098, aicme tax ppsiti Washits nvembe 2010 ballt.

It is much easie ivests t mve me tha peple. A pessive stateicme tax ceates a st icetive jb-ceats t mve busiess wth tthe states, ad existi emples t eithe elcate t pla a busiessexpasi i the pats the cut, gupp said.

Studies idicate that states with lwe tax budes, lwe maial tax atesad less pessivit have me bust ecmies with st icetives tlive, wk ad stat ew busiesses. Ad ma states ae thivi with stateicme tax at all. Texas basts state icme tax, al with a uemplmetate that is eal 3 pecet lwe tha Illiis. Its wkce is duble that the

Paiie States.

Mike Sl, a me plic adviset Seate republica Leade MitchMcCell ad wh is w withgamm Pates i Washit, D.C.,puts it this wa: A pessive tax htis abut the battle betwee ecmicals ad plitical als. I we wat

wkes t have the best tls, i wewat eseaches t d miacle dus,miacle cmputes ad miacle suces ee, i we wat busiessest ceate jbs, expad wealth adeeate steadil wi icmes ia eve-chai wld we eed t usecapital t seve its mst eciet adeective use.

Ate cetuies eve cceivablevaiati, the last milleium eded witha eeal pii that ee makets d

it best.S whats the alteative t et athetax ab? Illiis elected cials caad shuld d much me t ctlvemet expeditues. Thei admap is Budet Slutis 2014, aalteative balaced budet eleasedb the Illiis Plic Istitute that udsce sevices, pas backled bills adepeals the 2011 icme tax hike eea eal (lea me at illiisplic./budetslutis2014).

The d ews is that thee is still timet stp this idea. Illiis leislatswuld have util ext Ma t ee apessive tax t the 2014 ballt,ivi ppets ecmic eedmplet time t ht back.

get ivlved b eachi ut t uleislat this issue. Tell him hethat the best wa t help all Illiisas icludi the p ad disadvataed wuld be t elimiate the icmetax altethe.



The power o choice: school choice changes livesDiaa ricket | Diect Media relatis

Thei ldest s, rma J., elled atthe lcal public schl. His expeiecestated well, but b the time rmaJ. eached middle schl he hadbecme a C-studet.

It t t the pit whee we ticed e culd keep his atteti, rmaS. said. Hes t slw, hes t dumb.

Hes alwas bee a ve smat kid.But he eeded me e--e tpeteachi vesus a classm abut30 childe at a time.

A mtae, tw ca las ad theeme siblis at hme meat thegis culdt ad t sed rmaJ. t a pivate schl that culd betteaccmmdate his uique leai stle.But tuatel, aud this same time,

Idiaa gv. Mitch Daiels had just eacted a schl vuche law that wuld ivamilies like the gis me t sped at a schl thei chice.

The gis head abut the pam at chuch. Thee wuld be a applicatipcess, ad l a limited umbe studets wuld be accepted t the pamBut the wated t thw thei hat i the i, s the applied ad paed.

Abut a mth bee the ext schl ea stated, the gis wee elated tlea that the thee ldest thei ve childe had bee accepted t the pamThe let the eihbhd public schl ad elled at a aea pivate schAmbassad Chistia Academ.

Withi his st ea, rma wet m [bei] a C-aveae studet t missih ll b just e pit, rma S. said. The teaches wee me hads-The class sizes wee smalle, s the wee able t wk with him e e. Thteaches cmmuicated at a ve hih level with us ad with him.

All ve the gis childe have bee appved t paticipate i Idiaas schvuche pam ext ea. Thee am eal 10,000 studets statewide whae paticipati i Idiaas pam, ad am thusads me wh paticipati educatial chice pams atiwide.

rma ad Sheila gi ew up i ga, Id. The kew sthad that ga wast the best place t aise a amil; the schsstem was stuli ad the cits vilet cime ate is eal tiple what it is statewide. S i 2002, the gis mved theu amil t the eab subub Meillville, Id.



Schl chice pams such as chates ad vuches ae taki educatib stm. Stud ate stud has shw chice pams impve educatial

utcmes, eve i sme the cuts mst challei cmmuities. But meimptatl, these pams ae ivi paets ad studets chice ad ctlve thei educati allwi them t d a place t lea that best suits theipesal ad uique eeds.

Idiaa is t ale i its schl chice ets. Accdi t the Fudati Educatial Chice, based i geia, thee ae 26 schl chice pams i 16states ad Washit, D.C. Me tha 190,000 studets atiwide use publicuds t atted the pivate schl thei chice.

The atis st vuche pamwas stated i Milwaukee i 1990. D.

Hwad Fulle, a distiuished pess educati at Maquette Uivesitad a ltime educati eme, wasistumetal i etti this pam the ud.

The ht this law ad meeducatial pptuit stated lbee the 1990s. Fulle descibes thisht as the stule educatialequalit, which he said he jied i1976. He elt called t this lie wkate his w expeiece attedi apublic schl i Milwaukee as a child.

We live i a sciet whee, i u haveme, ad schls d t wk u, ue eithe i t mve t acmmuit whee the d wk, uei t take u kids ut ad putthem i pivate schls ue it d the best tutial sevice u ca u kids, Fulle said. S at the ed the da, the peple wh ae cedt sta i schls that d t wk them ae the pest amilies wh dt have the esuces.

This, he sas, is a questi educatial justice. ove the cuse his leth caee, hes te psed thequesti: Shuld Ameica be a place iwhich l thse with me have theabilit t chse a d schl theikids?

T him ad thes i Milwaukee, theaswe was . S i 1990, the citlauched a vuche pam citstudets.

Tda, the pam allws childem lw-icme ad wki-classamilies i Milwaukee the pptuit tuse tax-suppted vuches t escapethe public schl sstem wheethe aduati ate is lwe tha 50pecet ad atted a pivate schl.

EDUCATIonAL DELIVEry

Dr. Howard Fuller

Roman Grifn Jr.



Diaa ricket | Diect Media relatis

Pams such as the e i Milwaukeehave t bee withut scuti, hweve.Despite empiical evidece shwithe beets such pams, mai the media ctiue t descibe the

esults chice pams as mixed debatable. Meawhile, chicepams ae ctiuusl ude attackb advcates teaches uis admplized public educati.

I Milwaukee, example, the vuchepam has bee i existece metha 20 eas. Cuetl, me tha25,000 studets ae elled i thecits pivate schl vuche pamad eal 19,000 me attedMilwaukees public chate schls.

yet as ecetl as Jaua 2013, ati-chice activist Diae ravitch peeda cmmeta piece i the MilwaukeeJual Setiel ewspape calli the state t ed its chice pamsad sped taxpae dllas l theMilwaukee Public Schls sstem.

Wte ravitch: Vuches ad chates had thei chace. The ailed. nw it istime t build a eat public schl sstem that meets the eeds the childe Milwaukee it is impssible t achieve these als i a cit with thee cmpetischl sstems. It is etiel pssible t achieve whe thee is e schl sstemthat becmes the cus

While ravitchs call t acti was st, the data t back up he pit is tShutti dw Milwaukees chice pams liteall wuld esult i kids tishi hih schl i t cllee.

reseaches Patick J. Wl ad Jh F. Witte have studied educatial utcmesi Milwaukees chice pam at the equest the Wiscsi state vemetWl is 21st Cetu Edwed Chai i Schl Chice at the Uivesit Akasas ad Witte is a pess emeitus plitical sciece ad public aais athe Uivesit Wiscsi-Madis. Accdi t thei eseach, schl chice iMilwaukee had a mdest, but cleal psitive eect studet utcmes.

Wl ad Witte ud that studets wh paticipated i the Milwaukee PaetaChice Pam aduated m hih schl ad bth elled ad pesisted i

u-ea cllees at ates that wee u t seve pecetae pits hihe thaa caeull matched set studets i Milwaukee Public Schls. Fm a pacticastadpit, that meas thee wee 32 additial hih schl aduates wh we t cllee ut the 801-studet ith ade class 2006.

Educati emes bth sides the aisle have l lameted Illiis

cusi ad ieective mulas udi public educati.

Illiis cuet educati udisstem is cvluted, scallusustaiable ad ie with pblems,said Jsh Dwe, diect educatiem at the Illiis Plic Istitute.

While Illiis has t see the level em that eihbi Wiscsiad Idiaa have expeieced, theeis mvemet the educati t.I the Illiis geeal Assembl, tw

pmiet educati ems weeppsed. While the did t pass

ad becme law, this demstates that thees mvemet behid educatiem law.

Seate Bill 1248, spsed b state Ses. Matt Muph, Bill Bad, MichaeCell ad Jim obeweis, wuld have pvided vuches t studets iudepemi vecwded schls i Chica.

Meawhile, the opptuit Schlaship Act, Seate Bill 1777, wuld havepvided schlaships t studets i udepemi vecwded schlsi Ck Cut thuh schlaship ati aizatis. Cell hasspsed this bill.

Ultimatel, amilies ad studets i Illiis wuld beet mst m a ttal vuchesstem i which paets ae empweed t chse a educatial pvide thawks best thei uique eeds.

nt l des [a vuche sstem] allw me t llw the child, it pduces

bette utcmes studets, Dwe said. It emves the cstl baie amilies lki a bette educati thei childe, ad it allws paets td a schl that wks them plai ad simple.

CoULD ILLInoIS BE nEXT?

CHoICE oVErCoMES SCrUTIny

WATCH: Paets acss the cut wk had eve da t ive theamilies a bette lie. The gis a amil m Meillville, Id. shahw thei states vuche pam ave thei childe a bihte utue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJiaQ-B127L8http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJiaQ-B127L8http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJiaQ-B127L8http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJiaQ-B127L8



hee ae eape eat teet cit:

@sambai

Ae we behlde t the public schl sstem... t the publicschl child at a cst?

@PeteLaBabea

Im s sick thse maipulative IEA (IL Educati Ass) ads the adi. Hw much teache dues is spet thse ads?!

@ouiskie

oiiall, gvemet had t ht eve pe the tk. Tdawe have t t ad hide u peies m them.

@jimiuiIlliis eeds me..i the tax a 200k eae at 5% thats 10k..ithe aise that t 11% hw much is that?, 0 he mves

Be e t @iiipic ad ake vice ead.

John TillmanCEO@jhmtillma

Kristina RasmussenExecutive Vice President@kmasmusse

Matthew Paprocki

Senior Director o Government Aairs@mtpapcki

Brian CostinDirector o Government Reorm@biacsti

Daniel AnthonyVice President o Marketing & Communications@daielathIL

Jacob H. HuebertAssociate Counsel, Liberty Justice Center

@jhhuebet

Diana RickertDirector o Media Relations@diaa_icket

Ted DabrowskiVice President o Policy@ilpliski

Jonathan GreenbergVice President o External Relations

@eebejl

Josh DwyerDirector o Education Reorm

@jshuajdwePaul KerseyDirector o Labor Policy@paulkeseIL

Benjamin VanMetreSenior Budget & Tax Policy Analyst@plicva

Follow usAccdi t gallup, Ameicas distust i the media hit a ew hih last ea,

with 60 pecet sai the have little tust i the mass media t eptthe ews ull, accuatel ad ail.

ou team made a cmmitmet at the stat 2013 t delive u tustwthplic eseach i a me bite-sized mat. Ad u plic teams had wk isalead pduci esults the Illiis Plic Istitutes bl was amed e the best state-based plitical bls b The Washit Psts The Fix.

ou diital cmmuit espded b bsti u Twitte iteactis b metha 50 pecet.

Dui the st quate, we aveaed eal 30,000 Twitte iteactis withme tha 15,000 uique uses. T date, @illiisplic has a cmmuitappachi 25,000 llwes. Hee ae sme the mst iteesti tweets

m the past ew mths.

Liberty gone digital:eadi te pack it cabe pic e ad eeac



B ett i n g on I l l i n o i s

Betti Illiis is a seies that chicles the sties the etepeeus wh ae maki Illiis eat aai. The seies will hihliht the passi thatIlliis etepeeus pssess, the imptace cmpetiti ad the tesi betwee budesme vemet eulatis ad etepeeuial wth.

Pizza with a purpose:

retaate Diiti ski-nika beieve i Iii teHila gwis | Maai Edit

Dimiti Ski-niklau dest justmake pizza. Thuh his Chica-based busiess, Dims Pizza, he alscultivates taleted emplees. Hepes his ds t lcal schls. Hehelps ste ethusiasm ad excitemetwithi his cmmuit.

Thats because, t Ski-niklau,busiess ist just abut maki me.He believes its abut what he callspupseul pt.

Ultimatel, pt is what mattes items a busiess success, he said.But thats t the wa u shuldjude success. I als jude successb di iht b the peple wh wkhee ad u eihbhd u alis t ceate success the empleesad the cmmuit wee ivlved i.
http://www.dimospizza.com/http://www.dimospizza.com/



Thats wh he es ull health beetst his salaied emplees a aitam wes i the estauatidust. He als pvides a 401(k)with a emple match, as well as paidtime .

Ski-niklau has ud that ivestii d peple makes the dieece

i a idust whee the custmeexpeiece mattes. Whe he statedthe busiess i 2008, Ski-niklaul had a hadul emplees. Astime wet ad busiess ew,he buht me ad me teammembes, utilizi his best wkessteths b putti them i psitiswhee the culd be successul.

Ad Ski-niklau has his ees set expadi Dims hizs. Thisspi, he peed the ds t a

secd lcati i Chicas WickePak eihbhd. Ski-niklau waspatiall daw t the eihbhdbecause the st the WickeBthes, whm the eihbhdwas amed.

Thei idea was t make a place wheepeple all ecmic backudsca live ad succeed, Ski-niklausaid. Thats a al I ca et behid.

The Wicke bthes visi WickePak is dieet m hw ma peple

view Chicas eputati as a cit

taited with cupti. Ski-niklau said that sme the leislati set up tptect the cit m cupti actuall hides peple like himsel, wh wat tw busiess.

yu ed up ui it a umbe challees because hw this wee ithe past ad hw this wee udetake t ht cupti, he said. While itseat t t have cupti, its bette t have plicies that ste wth.

It wuld be ice t see Illiis be a place Abaham Licl wuld be pud ,he said. Seei peple fee the state is t smethi he wuld have beesupe excited abut. The bvius al is t ceate a busiess ad eceatialevimet that is iviti, that peple wat t paticipate i s that peple eelthe ca make a lie themselves hee.

Ftuatel Chica pizza lves, this cit is alead a place whee Ski-niklau is maki a lie himsel ad his busiess.

oe the mst exciti this abut Chica is that a lt peple mve heebecause thee excited abut livi i a bi cit, he said. Its eall a siph the Midwest. yu et peple m all Bi Te schls, peple m the majmet aeas, ad thee all excited t be hee because the cit has ptetial.

F us, busiess is alwas bette whe the Cubs ae i seas. yu et alt peple cmi i m ut tw, the sububs. Its exciti t see them

expeiece the pduct the st time. A lt peple cat believe thei ees.yu kw uve t this ew up peple wh ae excited t expeiece allthis Chica.

Ad custmes wh stp b Dims kw the expeiece is athi but tpical Ski-niklau ad his sta ceate meu ptis ai m mac-ad-cheesepizza t reube pizza t chicke-ad-wafes pizza.

The mst exciti thi abut bei i busiess is that its a ceati pcess, hesaid. Ad i u ceate smethi successul, peple will be able t see that adbe a pat ad i u d it eall well, the b-pduct is pt. Ad with that, i uchse, u ca ive back a umbe was.

WATCH: Dimiti Ski-niklau shaes his ecipe success i u eatued Betti Illiis vide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DDVZck3XKa34http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DDVZck3XKa34http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DDVZck3XKa34



Democracy restored: libet Jtice Cete vidicatectittia it cit macb citize

Diae Che | o Cusel, Libet Justice Cete the Illiis Plic Istitute

The Libet Justice Cete the IlliisPlic Istitute celebated its st majvict i Apil, with a cut uli thatuphlds the esults a cit electi iMacmb, Ill.

I Febua, the cit Macmb heldelectis seveal cit ces,icludi the 2d Wad aldemaseat. Weste Illiis Uivesit

studet Steve Wailad, 21, wasa cadidate i that ace ad acedKa Hill, a icumbet aldema whwas appited b Macmbs ma.Wailad eceived 17 the 33 vtescast i that electi 51.52 pecet the vte. Hweve, cit ad cutcials eused t declae Wailadthe wie the electi, claimithat a majit equied a majit pluse vte eve thuh that alteativedeiti was whee t be udi the cit muicipal cde, special

chate, Illiis muicipal cde athe dcumets. rathe tha seatiWailad, the cit held a u electi Apil 9.

Ate heai abut Wailads case, theLibet Justice Cete stepped i adtk his case t cut p b. Thuhemeec litiati, the Libet JusticeCete was able t secue a tempaestaii de pi t the Apil 9u electi t stp the cit mistalli ae the tha Wailad

t the ce 2d Wad aldema.Ate allwi time the cit t ullespd, the cut made a al uli ithe case Apil 26.

I his al uli, McDuh CutJude rde Clak said it is tlical t have a pes eceive metha 50 pecet the vte but et, tbe the wie. This is t hw Ameicadecides wh shuld be elected.

Clak deed the esults the Apil 9 electi ull ad vid, sai i his ulithat the llw-up electi shuld eve have take place.

The cut deed the Macmb cit clek t ti Wailad that he was electedt the ce 2d Wad aldema ad t admiiste the ath ce at theMacmb Cit Cucil meeti i Ma. Wailad, wh wks pat time i additi ta tackli a ull cuse lad, said he a 2d Wad aldema s that he culdctibute t ad make a dieece i his cmmuit. He w has that pptuit

This case stads as a emide that we must emai eteall viilat i theptecti libet m vemets abita ecemet the law. The Illiis

Supeme Cut has ecized that vti is the expessi the peple theiwill ad is udametal t a viable m vemet. This uli eams thecitizes Macmb ad all Illiisas cstitutiall ptected iht t vte adhave thei vtes cuted.

F me imati the Libet Justice Cete, visit libetjusticecete..

WATCH: Hea me abut Wailads case i his w wds.

Steven Wailand
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DI9qff6U82Bghttp://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DI9qff6U82Bg



Illinois pensions: a system built upon liesTed Dabwski | Vice Pesidet Plic

Illiis pliticias have shame. Thestate has a extesive hist jailed

ves ad pa-t-pla plitics. nwit ca add secuities aud t that list.

Illiis is alead the thid-mst cuptstate i the ati, accdi t a eptb the Uivesit Illiis Istitute gvemet ad Public Aais. But iMach, the Secuities ad ExchaeCmmissi chaed the state withsecuities aud.

Fm 2005 t 2009, the state wasud uilt li t pspectivebd bues abut the ptetialislvec the states ve pesiuds. gvemet cials ailedt disclse hw the states pesischeme, dubbed the Eda amp ateits desie, me gv. Jim Eda,siicatl udeuded the statespesi bliatis ad iceased theisk t its veall acial cditi.Thats because he puted eve-iceasi pamets it the utue iexchae smalle pamets i theeas ate the bill passed.

Its l the secd time the SEC hasbuht chaes aaist a state, thel the istace bei new Jesei 2010.

The sad thi is the state has bee lit vemet wkes ad taxpaes decades abut the cditi thestates pesi sstems. Ude ewaccuti ules, Illiis pesi udshave set aside l a quate theme the shuld have i thei ces,meai the uds ae l e maj

stck maket cecti awa mislvec. The SECs chaes helpedbi abut sme sushie t thselies.

Utuatel, the state admitted wdi i the SEC idictmet adbd is i t jail. That meas theaud chaes ad calls eal emae likel t all dea eas. Istead,Illiisas ae still at isk etti

me pesi xes that pepetuate the pblem m the same bueaucats whceated the pblem i the st place.

These xes wuld still leave Illiis taxpaes ad state wkes with a bkepesi sstem built ault assumptis.

Wite Ad Kessle shed liht athe atall fawed state etiemet sstem iStckt, Cali., i a ecet pii piece i The Wall Steet Jual. He wte thatthe cits bakuptc ma expse the little-kw but biest lie i lbal ace:pesi uds expected ate etu.

This lie is i ull peati i Illiis. The states pesi sstem is baki etus me tha 8 pecet each ea t pa the vel eeus beets it hasdled ut dui the past tw decades. I thse etus dt pa ut, its eithebakuptc teache etiemets, taxpae bailuts cuts t ce vemetsevices.

The secd bi lie is that theell be euh me i the utue. State pliticiasie that me ad me peple ae etii ad livi le, while the taxpaepl that must pa the beets is shiki. The cuet sstem pmises etieesxed amuts thei eve-le etiemet lives, al with aual, autmaticiceases. The cuet sstem is simpl t sustaiable.

Ad w the same vemet thats buht the pesi sstem t the pit islvec wats taxpaes ad state wkes t all the ext bi lie that avemet uaatee t ud pesis will ed Illiis pesi cisis.

I seveal ppsals pesi em, pliticias wat t leislativel bliatetaxpaes t uaatee thse lies. Thats iht the wat taxpaes t uaateepamets t a pesi sstem thats based ut--ctl assumptis ad u

b bueaucats. The wat taxpaes t put skcketi state wke etiemetpamets, thuh a pesi udi uaatee, ahead udi educati,health cae ad public saet.

Thee is l e wa t all ed the lies whe it cmes t pesis. Ad thatst ed the cuet pesi scheme ad t emve the pliticias m state wkepesis altethe. A $100 billi shtall, SEC chaes ad a sstem built lies meas lawmakes have lst thei iht t epeset state wkes ad taxpaes.

Istead, the state shuld embace a sstem that ives state wkes ctl thei w etiemets.

That sstem shuldt call taxpaes t pepetuall bail ut the eve-iceasidebt based these lies.

Ad the ew sstem shuldt shtchae the p ad disadvataed evetime pesi pamets ae put ahead udi schls, the sick ad thesaet Illiis steets.

The Illiis Plic Istitute has ppsed such a pla based a 401(k)-stlepla simila t thse i the pivate sect. State reps. Tm Mis, r-Palatie,ad Jeae Ives, r-Wheat, as well as Se. Jim obeweis, r-Sua gve, havespsed the pla, which saves me tha a the pla thats bee eed.Eve me, it is the l pla that all puts a ed t the cisis.

Will it be dicult a pla like this t evetuall wi ve ake em? yu bet. Butpassi eal em is te dicult because its t based lies.



Budget Solutions 2014 oers Illinois legislators aroadmap to economic recovery

Be VaMete | Sei Budet ad Tax Plic Aalst

F t l plitical leadeship iIlliis has ied the basics dpublic plic balaci the budetad limiti spedi. Illiis hasthad a balaced budet sice 2001 adspedi pe capita has w theetimes aste tha ifati sice 1990.

nw Illiis is suei thecsequeces. The state aks 48th iecmic utlk, 45th i gDP wthad 47th i etepeeuial activit.

Lawmakes have used eal evescal maeuve ad budeti immickpssible t avid eal em. Theisluti me bwi ad taxit pp up eve-iceasi levels spedi has ailed Illiis amilies,busiesses ad etepeeus.

Fme gv. rd Blajevich dumped$10 billi bwed me it thestates bke pesi sstem. gv.Pat Qui llwed suit bwi

athe $7 billi ve tw eas ia attempt t slve Illiis pesicisis. The lawmakes pushed thuha ecd $7 billi icme tax hike i2011 the said was desied t padw the states bills ad iht Illiisscal ship. Ad w thee csideibwi athe $2.5 billi t eeup sme m the states ceditcad.

Thats t what eal em lks like.

Its time Illiis t quit pusui ake

ems suppted thuh bwiad hihe taxes. The Illiis Plic

Istitutes Budet Slutis 2014 es the cmpehesive pesi ad spediem ecessa a tue Illiis tuaud.

A pla like this ca stp the slauht cedit dwades ad istead put Illiis a path twads ecmic wth ad pspeit ... Hadwki taxpaesdeseve this scal espsibilit m thei leadeship. We ca accmplish thesechaes, ad we must. I di s, we will la the udwk a tue ecmituaud i Illiis, said state rep. Jeae Ives, r-Wheat.

The Illiis Plic Istitutes pla cuts the uuded pesi debt i hal adicludes a deed ctibuti pla as the mai pilla its ems while ptectialead-eaed beets state wkes. The pla achieves these bld utcmes

b swappi ut the states cuet deed beet pam a pedictablead maaeable 401(k)-stle etiemet pla, eezi utue cst--liviadjustmets util the sstem is 100 pecet uded, alii the etiemet aewith Scial Secuit, elimiati the iespsible epamet amp ad maki lcavemets espsible pai the etiemet pamets the dle ut istead dumpi this espsibilit the state. This is the l ppsal that slvesIlliis pesi cisis ad ives vemet wkes the secue etiemet thedeseve.

But pesi em ale will t slve Illiis scal mess. Lawmakes musmdeize the wa the budet ad sped i Illiis. The em pla utlied iBudet Slutis 2014 calls a eal balaced budet equiemet e thaequies spedi icued dui a scal ea t be paid with eveue m

the same scal ea. It als calls a spedi limit tied t ifati ad ppulatiwth.

Budet Slutis 2014 als etus $7 billi t taxpaes b epeali the 2011icme tax hike eal ad pas dw the states $9.3 billi i upaid bills b2016. These ems ae made pssible b implemeti stuctual spediem icludi etui the states pima educati ud t its iial iteb elimiati iapppiate subsides, empwei Medicaid patiets with chiceb buildi the success Flidas Medicaid ems ad elimiati ieectiveveue shai pams.

I de Illiis t eve bei mvi i the iht diecti, plitical leadeshipmust disce what vemet ca ad shuld be di, ad etu t the basics d public plic sped withi its meas ad peate ude a balaced

budet. Budet Slutis 2014 pvides Qui ad the geeal Assembl with thealteative budet ad ems eeded t make Illiis pspeus aai.



Obstructed views: 102 ct ie tapaecadit ied diappiti etBia Csti | Diect gvemet rem

oe the best ptectis aaistcupti is taspaec, ad itdas diital ae e the easiestwas vemet t be pe adaccutable is thuh psti publicdcumets the Iteet.

Utuatel, mst Illiis cutieseed t damaticall impve whe itcmes t lie taspaec.

The Illiis Plic Istitute ecetl

audited all 102 cuties i the state lie taspaec usi a10-Pit Taspaec Checklist. Thechecklist icludes a ecmmedati lcal vemets t pst ctactimati elected cials adadmiistats, imati publicmeetis ad uidelies citizest access public imati thuhthe Feedm Imati Act. Thechecklist als ecmmeds acialimati such as budets, audits,expeditues, emplee cmpesati,

ctacts, lbbi ad tax imatit be psted lie.

The Istitute ud mst Illiis cuties ae seveel deciet whe it cmes tpsti basic paticipat ad acial imati lie. Hee ae sme theveall taspaec dis:

22 Illiis cuties d t have a website.

90 ut 102 existi cut websites ailed the 10-Pit Taspaec Audit.

ol thee cuties ut 102 sced a 90 pecet hihe: Kae (100pecet), DuPae (90.8 pecet) ad Will (95.4 pecet).

12 cuties vilated the ope Meetis Act ailue t pst a caleda,aedas pi t meetis ad miutes meetis lie.

27 cuties wee i vilati Feedm Imati Act laws aili tpst istuctis hw t le a FoIA equest.

I u cateies (expeditues, cmpesati, ctacts ad lbbi), metha 90 cuties ut 102 had aili ades.

Contact inormationpa-54 ai-48

Public meetingspa-38 ai-64

Public recordspa-38 ai-64

Budgetspa-25 ai-77

Auditspa-30 ai-72

Expenditurespa-7 ai-95

Compensationpa-3 ai-99

Contact information 5.3

Public meetings 4.2

Public records 3.9

Budget 2.7

Audits 2.9

Expenditures 0.9

Compensation 0.5

Contracts 1.4

Lobbying 1.0

Taxes 2.7

Average score out of 10

10-Point Transparency Checklist: Perormance by Category

Contractspa-10 ai-92

Lobbyingpa-10 ai-92

Taxespa-26 ai-76



Jo Daviess Stephenson Winnebago Boone McHenry Lake

CarrollOgle

DeKalb

Kane

DuPage CookWhiteside Lee

Kendall

Will

GrundyLaSalle

Putnam Kankakee

BureauHenryRock Island

Mercer

Knox

Henderson

FultonMcDonough

Peoria

StarkMarshall

Livingston

Iroquois

FordMcLeanTazewell

Mason

Logan DeWitt

Piatt

Macon

Champaign Vermilion

Edgar

Douglas

Coles

ClarkCumberland

Shelby

Hancock

Adams

Pike

Brown

Schuyler

Cass

Menard

Sangamon

Scott

Morgan

Greene Macoupin Montgomery

Christian

MadisonBond

FayetteEffingham

Jasper Crawford

Clay

MarionRichland

Lawrence

Wayne

Jefferson

Woodford

Jersey

Monroe

St. Clair

PerryRandolph

Jackson

Union Johnson Pope

Alex

ande

r

Pulaski Massac

Hardin

GallatinSalineWilliamson

Franklin Hamilton White

Wabash

Edwards

Clinton

Washington

C

alhoun

Warren

Moultrie

100

39.8 43.2 41.247.6 56.4 86.0

49.131.7

60.9

27.448.1

65.2

90.8

83.7

40.8

29.6

9.5

8.544.2

47.0

95.4

52.0

50.2

25.1

69.7

12.6

7.527.4

25.253.5

46.0 44.410.3

68.135.9

5.5

33.1

10.5

12.015.0

19.0

1.515.5

17.817.2

2.5

6.352.4

22.8

10.0

0.1

6.1

15.3

7.9

17.0

24.4

60.4

1.1

81.6

2.5

41.976.4

11.338.9

12.5

6.3

12.5

16.9

43.7

15.832.1

6.5

43.95.0

23.7

49.9

23.6

14.5

13.9

100

99-90

89-80

79-70

69-60

59-0

No website

Overall online transparency scores o Illinois counties



AUDIT CATEGORIES:

22COUNTIES WITHOUT A WEBSITE

12

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Only three counties scored a 90% or higher.

90 counties failed.

AVERAGE SCORE: 25.7 (out of possible 100)

82.5

COUNTIES IN ILLINOIS:

102

99

counties had failing grades in this category. Governmentemployee compensation is also the No. 1 budget area formost counties in Illinois, yet it is the lowest scoring of all 10transparency categories.

10

All 10 categories within the onlinetransparency audit have annualcomponents and scoring an 82.5percent on the audit can beachieved by posting only the annualtype of documents.

27counties were in violation of FOIA laws for failing topost instructions on how to file a FOIA request.

12counties violated the Open Meetings Act for failure topost a calendar, agendas prior to meetings andminutes of meetings online.

The Illinois Policy Institute recently auditedall 102 counties in the state for onlinetransparency using a 10-Point TransparencyChecklist, and found most Illinois counties

are severely deficient when it comes toposting basic participatory and financialinformation online.

Contact informationPublic meetings

Public records

Budgets

Audits

Expenditures

Compensation

Contracts

Lobbying

Taxes



Labor policy

Testied twice i av HuseBill 2689, which wuld equie thatvemet ui ctacts be madepublic ad a heai held beectacts ae atied.

Published The Lab Bk: A uidet Illiis vemet uis, a ept vemet ui membeshipad aces.

Education reorm

Hsted u evets Illiis bkeeducati ace sstem ad theeed schl chice.

Lbbied leislats t suppt SeateBill 1777, a pesal ad cpate tax

cedit schlaship pam. Advcated aaist Huse Bill 494

amedmets 1 ad 2, which aimedt put a matium schls withvitual leai cmpets.

Budget & tax

released Budet Slutis 2014, acmpehesive alteative budet that

las ut pesi ad spedi em state ad lcal vemets.

released a ept that shws wh thecst-shit ude 401(k)-stle plas t pesis wuld be d schl disticts. Ude this pla,schl disticts wuld pa thei shae emplee etiemet csts tthe state.

Published lettes t the edit i theChica Tibue, The State-Jualreiste ad The Bule ppsi thepessive icme tax.

gave a pesetati at the MedtaCivic Cete titled Illiis ext taxht: wh a pessive icme taxwill hut Illiis.

Good government

Auced pateship with Meta timpve website taspaec.

released plic pape titledobstucted views: Illiis 102cut lie taspaec audit.

Testied i suppt Huse Bill3312 t impve lcal vemettaspaec stadads.

recized 38 Illiis aecies meeti taspaec stadadsdui Sushie Week.

Liberty Justice Center

W a maj vict i Wailad vCit Macmb, vidicati thecstitutial ihts aldemacadidate Steve Wailad ad alMacmb vtes.

Published a leal aalsis thepesi udi uaatee ud iseveal ppsed pesi embills.

Filed Illiis Libet PAC, et al. vMadia, et al. i U.S. Distict Cutwhich seeks t stike dw Illiiscampai ace act because ivilates Illiis citizes ihts tee speech ptected b the U.SCstituti. Filed a amededcmplait i Ma.

Is cuetl litiati Cwe v. cit Blmit, which seeks t stikedw cit pactices ad pceduesthat ucstitutiall baed ucliet, Julie Cwe, m peatihe vehicle--hie busiess iBlmit. We ae als litiatiBeaves Duts v. cit Evastwhich seeks t stike dw a cit Evast diace that phibitsae m peati a d tuckwh des t w a bick-ad-mtaestauat i the cit. Victies i

these cases wuld vidicate ucliets ad all citizes ihts t ea alivi ee m iatial ad abitavemet eulati.

Policy and litigation center updatesThe Illiis Plic Istitute leads the chae libet thuh its stateic litiati ad plic wk, champii the ee

maket pespective thuhut the state with a st pesece i the Statehuse ad at u ce i Chica. Fm schchice t pesi em t lab plic, the Illiis Plic Istitute has bee had at wk pmti plic that will bette thelives all Il liisas. The llwi ae hihlihts sme u mst ecet wk.



The pesi debate dmiatedSpields plitical discuse this

spi, but ma the issues such asthe i ht aaist a pessiveicme tax still lm lae. The IlliisPlic Istitute is havi a impact ipmti ee maket issues i thestates capitl all ts, wkit pactivel itduce leislatithat wuld suppt the ee maketad ppsi leislati that hidesecmic develpmet.

Dui the mst ecet leislativesessi, the Illiis Plic Istitute

eviewed me tha 6,000 bills adled psitis me tha 300 bills.That meas that the team has eviewedeve sile piece leislati thatwas ppsed b eve sile lawmakei the state. reviewi bills beethe ae assied t a substativecmmittee is citical because it allwsthe Illiis Plic Istitute t pactivelsuppt ppse leislati admeet with cmmittee membes beeheais take place.

Legislative updates: a k at at appei i spifedMatt Papcki | Sei Diect gvemet Aais

Belw ae sme the maj iitiatives the Illiis Plic Istitute ifueced:

Progressive tax opposition House Resolution 241This is the Illiis Plic Istitute-dated esluti expessi ppsiti t apessive tax. A pessive tax wuld icease taxes 85 pecet icmetax les. This ppsiti et is champied b state rep. David McSweee,r-Bait Hills, ad 46 the leislats sied as c-spss.

Comprehensive pension reorm House Bill 3303

Thuh the discussis pesi em have eteed a stalemate, the IlliisPlic Istitute itduced a cmpehesive pesi em bill, Huse Bill 3303.HB 3303, spsed b state rep. Mis, r-Palatie, was head i the HusePesel ad Pesis Cmmittee with 259 idividuals, aizatis adcpatis li witess slips suppti it. ol 10 slips wee led i ppsiti.

Charter school moratorium House Bill 494, foor amendment #1

I Mach, state rep. Lida Chapa La Via, D-Aua, itduced a bill that wuldhave eacted a thee-ea matium the ceati a chate schl thatutilized vitual leai. The Illiis Plic Istitute ppsed this leislati, adlbbied ad educated membes the Illiis geeal Assembl the issue schl chice. Thuh this bill ultimatel became law, the pessue appliedt leislats esulted i the bill bei ameded ad the thee-ea matium waseduced t e ea.

The Illiis Plic Istitute will ctiue aessivel pmti ee maketpiciples i Spield.



Ameica is suppsed t be abuteedm. oe the udi piciples u cut is that we ae atualledwed with the ialieable iht tchse hw we wat t live u lives.

We dive the cas we wat. We shpwhee we wat. We live whee we wat.

But ma childe have eve had thepptuit t atted the schls thatthe ad thei paets miht pee. Fdecades, ideed eeatis, millis kids have bee assied t attedvemet-u schls based whee the live.

T ma thse kids have bee stucki substadad schls, whee thee islittle hpe aii the tpe educati ecessa t pepae themde wld.

I states whee schl chiceis becmi the m Idiaa,Wiscsi ad Lusiaa, example

that pblem is t as pevalet. Mastudets m lwe-icme amilieshave the iht t use state vuches tpa pivate schl tuiti.

Studets i thse states ca escapem the ccle ailue that exists ima public schl sstems. Kids istates like Illiis have a ewe ptis.

Feedm chice is bviusl the ket educati em. Utuatel theatis pweul teaches uis ad

thei allies ae di thei best t stpthe schl chice mvemet bee ithas a chace t spead ad bi hpet me amilies ad cmmuities.

Chica Teaches Ui PesidetKae Lewis summed up the uipsiti at a ecet occupDepatmet Educati evet iWashit, D.C., whe she said:

The pblem is we ae i times whepeple believe that the maket isalwas iht The maket alwas hasa sluti the pblems. nw thepblem with that is whe u lk atmaket slutis schli pblemsad cetail publicl uded publiceducati, the what u stat lkiat is that u aise up the level theidividual. S its just what m idividualkid eeds, t whats d kids, butwhat m kid eeds.

What Lewis meas is the idividual isbad ad the cllective iteest is d.

Istead letti paets ad studetschse the educati that best tsthei eeds, well setece all studetst medicit wse becauseevee shuld be equal.

Its t as i Lewis ad the teaches uihave much cedibilit. Lewis sputs ad abut cpate iteestsuii Chica Public Schls, butthe taic act is that thee ist muchlet t ui. recet data shws l 20

Its time or Illinois politicians to embrace school choiceKle ols | Publishe, Fude ad CEo EAgews.

pecet Chica eihth-adesae pciet i eadi ad mathad the aduati ate is abut63 pecet.

Hw culd me schl chicepssibl hut i this cit?

This is the questi bee thecitizes Illiis. Will paets allwa bueaucac t ctiue t dictatewhat is best thei childe?

Ma states have made the blddecisi t expad chice adcmpetiti withi the vemeteducati sstem. Theve ivepaets ad studets t uisad the special iteest ups pwe ad esuces.

As a esult a lt childe mlwe-icme eihbhds aeeceivi qualit istucti atpivate ad chate schls. Ad theiceased cmpetiti studets

has ced a lt taditial publicschls t e-examie thei piitiesThats a ve health develpmet a lt schls that have bee tcmtable t l.

But thats l happei i stateswhee the public has demadedchae ad state cials have beeced t espd. This is wh uivlvemet mattes s much.



Jualist i residece Sctt reedes st ivestiati dives it the t-abused wld dut-disabilit pesis.

Escalati umbes Illiis plice ad e wkes ae eceivi these disabilit pesis ad the aveae lcalplice ad e pesi ud is l 54 pecet uded, accdi t a Cmmissi gvemet Fecastiad Accutabilit ept eleased i Apil. Uuded liabilities the plice ad e pesi uds all Illiismuicipalities utside Chica ae $7.5 billi.

This is the ext maj acial cisis aci Illiis, said state Seate republica Leade Chistie rad.

T ead te t, viit ie..

A eai ad ad-itti ivetiative epti e ebite i Iii.ucvei ate, ad ad abe tate, icipa ad ca eve.

Pitica ite | statee e cveae | week c
http://ilnews.org/http://ilnews.org/



Ate Pesidet Baack obama wasst elected i 2008, Chica ativeLisa Tesaik decided it was time t etivlved pliticall.

Mst he ieds liked obamashetic ad wee ethusiastic abuthis pmises hpe ad chae.

Tesaik wated t lea me abut theissues t be able t deed he ideals sel eliace ad small vemet.S she jied the Illiis Plic Istitute.

We have s ma pblems iIlliis that eed t be addessed Iwated t d a aizati thatwas cusi me at the state level,she said. Thats what dew me t theIlliis Plic Istitute.

Whe it cmes t statewide issues,Tesaik has actuall ud smecmm ud with he ieds.

The wat the pesi issueaddessed, she said. The wat

chate schls. A lt m iedssa i Illiis the ae me i lie withthe csevative pit view. I theimids, a umbe m ieds wh vteDemcat said the wuld be willi tvte a republica i we had a dcadidate. Smee willi t addessthe spedi ad take uis. Theealize spedi is ut ctl.

Tesaik is uiquel psitied tudestad just hw die Illiis situatiis. She wks i wealth maaemet,veseei the due diliece pcess ivestmet maaes used i clietptlis. She wks specicallwith tusts ad aec accuts,helpi t set stateies based the macecmic evimet.The plitical ladscape ad hw itaects ivestmets is paticulaiteest t he.

I m idust u hea abut Illiisbds ad the iteest wee pai,Tesaik said. We talk t u muicipal

bd maaes ad the sa, Wee eall caeul abut avidi pape i cetaistates that ae scall usud. otetimes, that icludes Illiis. Its eallccei whe u hea adviss sai thee avidi bui u debt.

Illiis pesi cisis, its upaid bills ad ailue t em vemet spediae issues Tesaiks ada. Ad as a ivestmet maae ad stateic thikei chae the peples me, she is well awae Illiis shtcmis.

I wuld eve bad a sluti that was u like Illiis, she said. It wuldtmake it past the st due diliece meeti.

But Tesaik sas she emais ptimistic abut Illiis utue, which culd take adastic tu the bette i the matte a electi ccle.

We just have t elect smee with the backbe t d whats iht, she saidDi whats iht is the had thi t d. yu cat w abut bei e-elected.

F w, Tesaik is ateul that shes becme well-vesed the issues ad plast emai active i Illiis Plic Istitute evets. Dui the past seveal easshes als becme me diliet abut calli he lcal epesetatives t discussplic iitiatives, questis ad cces.

Its eat t be imed, she said. Whe peple stat talki abut the issues ca ive specics ad stats.

Lisa Tesarik

Cicaa fd fe pic tit Iii Pic Ititte activit

Member spotlight



o Mach 12 the Illiis Plic Istitute

hsted ge glassma, ude adCEo CssFit. glassma peedthe st CssFit m i 1995 iCaliia ad lauched csst.cmi 2001 as a pe-suce pam.B 2009, thee wee me tha 1,000CssFit aliates wldwide, as well asa atial CssFit games evet. At theIlliis Plic Istitute evet, glassmashaed his busiess impact adifuece the tess cmmuit. Heals spke abut hw etepeeushipad the ee maket ceate pspeit

ad wth. Membes the CssFitcmmuit jied Illiis Plic Istitutemembes this exciti evet, whichdew almst 120 uests.

Greg Glassman Cit CEoPepai te K ad uk

As pat the Illiis Plic Istitutes Speakes Bueau, the Illiis Plic Istitute pateed with richlad Cmmuit Cllee,the geate Decatu Chambe Cmmece ad the Ecmic Develpmet Cp. Decatu ad Mac Cut Mach 26 a pael discussi eatui Illiis Plic Istitute sta. Sei Fellw Jatha Iam, Jualist i residece Sctt reedead Diect Educati rem Jsh Dwe sat a pael mdeated b Executive Vice Pesidet Kistia rasmusse addiscussed the plitical climate i Spield ad the plicies ecessa t tu the state aud. Pael speakes talked abutleislative develpmets i pesis ad educati, icludi schl chice ad chate schls. Me tha 40 lcal busiessleades atteded this hu-l pael. I u ae iteested i iviti a membe the Illiis Plic Istitute t speak t uup, each ut t Chis Adiese at 312-346-5700 chis@illiisplic..

Decatur Policy Breakast

Events

WATCH: glassma talks abut whatmakes CssFit dieet ad shaeshis thuhts etepeeuship

ad the ee maket. Photos: Mark Campbell Creative
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCgftOLhmIGghttp://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCgftOLhmIGghttp://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCgftOLhmIGghttp://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCgftOLhmIGghttp://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DCgftOLhmIGg



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ExPErT sPoTlIghT Kistia rasmusse | Executive Vice PesidetKistia rasmusse ets this de.As the executive vice pesidet theIlliis Plic Istitute, she takes thelead tasmi ideas, cceptsad missis it plic esults.

Kistia cut he plitical teeth iWashit, D.C., eai a mastesdeee i plitical maaemet at

gee Washit Uivesit. Whilewki he deee, Kistia wkedas a ite Capitl Hill beejii the natial Taxpaes Ui.

Sice 2009 she has headed up theIlliis Plic Istitutes Spieldce, ad has made a atial ame hesel; Kistia has made umeusappeaaces Fx Busiess Chael,bee published i the Chica Tibue,quted i The Wall Steet Jual adis a ce t be ecked with i the

Statehuse.

Q: yue m Miesta ad haveextesive expeiece wki iWashit, D.C. But u picked upad mved t the bell the beast iIlliis. Wh did u decide t makethat mve?

A: ou CEo Jh Tillma tld methat i u ca x Illiis u ca xathi. He said t me, yu thikthe edeal vemet has pblems?Wait util u et t Illiis. This is aeat challee t be a pat . WheI came , the Illiis Plic Istitutealead had the Chica ce but weelt it was imptat t put a membe the leadeship team i Spield;the leadi state plic up has tbe whee the plicmakes ae. Thiswas a decisi we made t put meemphasis the plicmaki pcess.

Q: What have u leaed abut Illiissice uve bee hee?

A: That m iitial idea that this is a lad eat ptetial ad pptuit wascect; but that the pblems hee uve deep, ad thee is a discectbetwee cmm sese ad thedecisis made at the Statehuse. Ite thik abut what the debate dwhee wuld lk like i thee was Illiis Plic Istitute. T te eis epeseti the viewpit libet,eedm, ee makets ad ee peple. Icat imaie a Illiis withut us.

Q: Hw wuld u descibe Illiis plitical cultue?

A: It is t alwas e based piciple libet. A cadidates stump speechad ideals culd be thw vebad i a istat whe the et t Spieldad thuh the plitical pwe plas that dmiate dw hee. The Illiis

Plic Istitute emids peple thei piciples ad that ee maket plic willpvide the best esults all Illiisas.

Q: Hw wuld u descibe a aveae da u?

A: It stats at 6 a.m. whe I ll ve ad stat sclli thuh m email Im s excited t see the latest develpmets. I ecetl wked ma a extahu t alet peple t a ve bad bill that ppped up i cmmittee bai ewvitual chate schls the ext thee eas. oe mi this week I was icmmittee. I live-tweeted the whle thi ad ifueced membes. Ate that Ishited t caliti uteach. Late I did membe uteach ad a media appeaace tw. I als wked a plic pape pesi udi uaatees.

M husbad cstatl emids me what a amazi pptuit it is t kwue hti smethi u believe i eve da.

Q: What mtivates u ad ives u hpe chae?

A: I d what I d because I have see the tiumph the huma spiit. Whe uuleash it, it ca d amazi this. Eve da I ca help wk t uleash thisi Illiis is s atii ad ewadi, ad it keeps me i whe thee aesetbacks i Spield. All the tial ad the stule will be wth it i the ed.

Q: Hw d u measue success i what u d?

A: Whe what was csideed impssible is w eceived as cmm wisdm.Whe the tem Illiis pesi cisis used t be a heetical statemet ad wis accepted as cmm act, I kw wee maki a dieece.


28/28

Justice Luis Badeis ppulaized the sai that the states wee the labaties demcac.

Fm welae em i the 1990s t lab plic, educati plic ad budet plic tda, states te blaze tails publicplic ieuit ad ceativit.

Utuatel, Illiis is less a labat tha it is a Petie dish. o cuse, the pima ucti a Petie dish is diastic atl medical pessials t ideti a ailmet s that the ppe cue ca be admiisteed.

At the Illiis Plic Istitute, wee wki t d ad implemet the ivative, maket-based plic slutis that ca cue ustate ad ati. Whats me, u maketi-cetic appach eectivel cmmuicates these slutis t taxpaes. Ad uimpact teies the aets the status qu.

But we cat d it withut u. yu tax-deductible membeship suppts u ets ad the cause libet ad d veaceyu ca ctact me at 312.346.5700 jeebe@illiisplic. t lea me. Please cside jii us!

Jatha geebe, Vice Pesidet Exteal relatis
mailto:%20jgreenberg%40illinoispolicy.org?subject=Response%20to%20Compass%20Summer%202013mailto:%20jgreenberg%40illinoispolicy.org?subject=Response%20to%20Compass%20Summer%202013

compass [summer 2013] power of school choice

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