Education, the economy and politics

I agree with Dr. Stagliano that it is important that we support our school system as best we can. There is a direct correlation between the quality of education and the quality of the community. We as a community must do some hard thinking on the school funding issue.

Everyone of us has been affected by the economy. Nobody saw the stock market crash coming. We all thought that the party would never end. However, the laws of the business cycle were not repealed. Eventually, the bubble burst and everyone, including the experts on Wall Street, didn't see it coming.

Subsequently, we all have had to curtail expenditures and make adjustments to our life style. I know I did. Thinking I could retire at 60 became a pipe dream. I have returned to my work with vigor and enthusiasm. So maybe the economic crash was a blessing in disguise for me because I find that retirement for me is something I will probably never do. I enjoy working too much.

The last ten years of the economic boom also led us into spending money more than we probably should have. We didn't save for the rainy days ahead. Isn't it funny how short our memories are? I have seen many booms and busts in our economy and during the boom years we think it will go on forever and during the down years we wish we hadn't bought that new car a year ago. There does not appear to be any correlation between economic insight and intelligence.

I think the behavior of institutions mirror that of individuals during economic cycles. It is probably fair to say that our school district probably didn't plan for the rainy days ahead any more than did the average individual. Therefore, it seems to me that our institutions should adjust their behavior during economic hard times in the same manner as individuals like you and I. In other words, they should be required to cut back on expenditures the same as we did.

Judging from the letters that this website has received, an increase in the tax levy for the school district is not a pleasant thought. However, neither is going to the dentist when you have a tooth ache. It depends on how much you are willing to suffer the consequences. Are we willing to suffer the consequences of a poor school system?

My advice to the school board is that they should make every effort possible to cut costs in our school system in the same manner that the rest of us have had to do. By doing this I believe that the taxpayers will have a different attitude towards a tax levy. The feeling that I detect is that if the school district wants an increase in taxes to cover the shortfall in educational funding, then the school should also makes cuts like everyone else during difficult times.

It is no wonder that our State has an inadequate funding system as pointed out in Dr. Stagliano's editorial. I read the other day where Illinois was ranked in the top 5 worst states for corruption in its politics. Surprisingly, South Dakota was ranked worst, the home state of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

This state's business has always been resolved in smoked-filled rooms where you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Rather than adopt a system similiar to Minnesota's where each student recives an equal amount of state funding for education, Illinois chooses to set up a lottery system to help fund our education. In Illinois the poor school districts that need the money the most gets the least because of its poor tax base.

Although I have been a life-long Republican, I think the Republicans in Illinois have a lot of work to do to regain the confidence of the people. The approval by the Republican controlled legislature of Governor George Ryan's appointments of his cronies to plush state jobs is disgusting. Last week Ryan appointed his aide, attorney Diane Ford, to the Illinois Industrial Commission with an annual salary of $101,790. Another guy was appointed to the Prisoner Review Board at $72,950 a year and another cronie was given a $79,779 a year job on the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board. Does anyone know what kind of jobs these are? How often do they go to work? What do they do? No wonder we don't have any money left for education. All our money is spent on cronies with high paying state jobs that require little work.

Finally, our U.S. Representative Ray LaHood criticized our U. S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald for not being a good Republican and for not supporting Governor Ryan's Lincoln Memorial Library in Springfield. Fitzgerald felt that it would become a patronage haven for Ryan's buddies. Frankly, I admire Fitzgerald for being honest and unbiased in his opinions. Disassociating yourself from Governor George Ryan and any of his projects seems like a smart play to me. LaHood comes off as just another Republican party minion.

By approving Ryan's endless awarding of patronage jobs to his cronies, the Republican party is shooting itself in the foot. With representation like that in Springfield, don't expect to find any answers to our educational funding problems soon.