Illinois Education Association puts union bosses’ agenda ahead of teachers’

By Mailee Smith

07/30/2024

Just 13% of IEA’s spending was on representing teachers in 2023. But the spending of its national affiliate – the National Education Association – was even worse, with less than 8% of its spending on representing teachers’ interests.

TAGS: IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association

Union bosses pay lobbyist big bucks to kill school choice as he sends his kids to private school

By Mailee Smith

09/20/2023

Sean Denney, director of government relations at the Illinois Education Association, makes four times more than the average family receiving an Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship. He can afford private school for his children but is trying to end that option for others.

TAGS: IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, Invest in Kids

August is teacher opt out time: know your rights as an Illinois public school employee

By Hannah Schmid

08/11/2023

Educators and other public school employees in Illinois can opt out of union membership in August and stop paying dues.

TAGS: IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, opt out

NEA, IEA spend little on representing teachers, but prioritize politics

By Mailee Smith

07/21/2023

Less than 8% of NEA and IEA’s spending in 2022 was on representing teachers, according to the unions’ federal reports. That could be why nearly 203,000 public school employees – including more than 6,000 in Illinois – have left NEA since 2017.

TAGS: IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, teachers union

National teachers union pushes mandatory masking, vaccines

07/07/2022

Delegates to the National Education Association’s annual meeting again called for mask and vaccine mandates, as well as remote learning. On Nov. 8 voters will decide whether to grant Illinois union bosses more power to set school policy.

TAGS: IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, masks, vaccine mandate

Over 22,000 Illinois school employees stop handing their pay to a union

By Mailee Smith

08/12/2021

Educators across Illinois are exercising their rights, with over 22,000 fewer school employees sending dues or fees to teachers unions than in 2017.

TAGS: IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, opt out, teachers union

7 misleading progressive tax claims public unions are telling Illinois members

By Mailee Smith

09/30/2020

Government unions and their PACs have spent more than $1 million pushing the progressive tax on the Nov. 3 ballot – and are using misleading information.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, fair tax, IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, progressive tax, SEIU: Service Employees International Union, Vote Yes for Fair Tax

Former Hinsdale superintendent collecting $315k pension

03/06/2020

The former leader of a wealthy school district is receiving a massive pension boosted by a pair of 20% raises given during her final two years. Illinois needs pension reform.

TAGS: Clarendon Hills, Community Consolidated School District 181, Hinsdale, IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, Mary Curley, pension spiking, pensions, property taxes, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Illinois pensions 101: Paltry contributions yield million-dollar payouts

01/17/2020

Across all five state retirement systems, typical career workers pay for about 5% of the cost of their pension benefits. They receive an average of $1.7 million to $3.6 million.

TAGS: Edgar Ramp, firefighter pensions, GARS: General Assembly Retirement System, government employees, government services, government unions, government workers, IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Jim Edgar, JRS: Judges’ Retirement System, municipal government, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, police pensions, public sector, retirement age, Rod Blagojevich, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, Social Security, social services, Springfield, SURS: State Universities Retirement System, tax hikes, tax increase, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Nearly 12K Illinois educators have stopped paying a teachers union

By Mailee Smith

10/02/2019

Educators across the state are exercising their rights, with 12,000 fewer public school employees sending dues or fees to teachers unions today than before the Janus v. AFSCME ruling.

TAGS: CPS: Chicago Public Schools, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, IEA-NEA: Illinois Education Association, IFT: Illinois Federation of Teachers, labor, strike, unions

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Martin Sahagun

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students