By Hugh Devlin, From Lake Effect News
Vice Mayor and 50th Ward Alderman Bernard L. Stone
An ongoing, well documented investigative series by the Chicago Tribune into various City Council expense accounts turned up numerous instances of city taxpayers’ largesse to the friends and family members of Chicago aldermen.
In November 2009, Lake Effect News filed a...
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Tags: Alderman, Bernard Stone, Better Government Association, Chicago City Council, Chicago Tribune, ethics, ethics in government, FOIA, Fred Roti, Freedom of Information Act, Lake Effect News, vice mayor
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A coalition of reform advocates has created an initiative that could take legislative redistricting out of the hands of Illinois politicians and vest it in an independent panel. Now all the coalition needs to do is collect one half-million signatures to get its initiative on the November ballot and then convince voters to approve...
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Tags: Andy Shaw, Better Government Association, census, constitutional amendment, gerrymandering, Illinois, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois Fair Map, Illinois Reform Commission, League of Women Voters, legislative redistricting, partisan, reform
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Efforts to abolish the century-old Illinois General Assembly scholarship program have proven unsuccessful in the past, but outside of eliminating it altogether, higher education and financial aid experts say there are ways to improve it.
They recommend a number of changes, from developing a consistent set of standards in choosing the winners to lawmakers being...
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Tags: Andy Shaw, Better Government Association, Center for College Affordability and Productivity, Cindi Canary, colleges, higher education, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Kent Redfield, Rep. Bill Black, scholarships, Tuition, U.S. Department of Education, universities
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Five Illinois lawmakers require students applying for a legislative scholarship to register to vote – a requirement that some experts say is inappropriate and discriminatory.
John Whitehead, president of the Virginia-based The Rutherford Institute, said lawmakers who require applicants vying for Illinois General Assembly scholarships to register are discriminating against students whose religious beliefs prevent...
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Tags: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, Andy Shaw, Better Government Association, Cindi Canary, colleges, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois State Board of Education, Kent Redfield, Rep. Dan Brady, Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, Rep. Karen May, Rep. Kenneth Dunkin, Rep. Randy Ramey, Rep. Renee Kosel, scholarships, Tuition, universities
Posted in Community Concerns, Local Politics, Politics, Schools & Education, The Editor's Choice | 3 Comments »
The phone calls started Sept. 15.
The journalist wanted to know how Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) selects students in her Bronzeville district to receive free tuition at 12 Illinois universities.
A team of Columbia College Chicago reporters, in collaboration with Illinois Statehouse News, contacted the offices of all 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly to...
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Tags: Better Government Association, Center for Open Government, Cindi Canary, colleges, Columbia College Chicago, FOIA, Frankin Cneter for Government and Public Integrity, Freedom of Information Act, higher education, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois General Assembly, John Cullerton, public information, Rep. Art Turner, Rep. Betsy Hannig, Rep. Constance Howard, Rep. James Brosnahan, Rep. Julie Hamos, Rep. Susana A. Mendoza, scholarship, Sen. Bill Brady, Sen. Deanna Demuzio, Sen. Mattie Hunter, Senate President, state legislature, Terrance Norton, Tuition, universities
Posted in Community Concerns, Local Politics, Politics, Schools & Education, The Editor's Choice | 4 Comments »
The Illinois General Assembly scholarships have become a family affair for dozens of siblings who’ve secured tens of thousands of dollars in free tuition to the state’s public universities since 2003.
There’s just one main requirement in the century-old state law that created the legislative scholarship program: Applicants must live in the awarding lawmaker’s district....
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Tags: Andy Shaw, Better Government Association, Cindi Canary, clout, colleges, Dick Simpson, higher education, Illinois Campaign for Political Reporm, Illinois General Assembly, Rep. Bill Black, Rep. David Reis, Rep. JoAnn Osmond, Rep. Shane Cultra, Rep. Tom Cross, scholarships, Tuition, universities
Posted in Community Concerns, Local Politics, Politics, Schools & Education, The Editor's Choice | 6 Comments »
Community gardens. Buying the Leone Beach house. Security cameras on the “L” platforms.
Those were just a few of the suggestions 49th Ward residents gave last week on how to spend next year’s aldermanic menu money during a community meeting held by Ald. Joe Moore (49th). In what Moore says will be...
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Tags: 49th Ward, Ald. Joe Moore, Better Government Association, Dick Simpson, Far North Side, Gale Academy, Leone Beach, Loyola Park, Mayor Richard M. Daley, New Field School, North Side, PACTT Learning Center, Pam Zekman, participatory budgeting, Rogers Park, Sherwin Manor Nursing Home, St. Ignatius Church, St. Jerome Church, United Church of Rogers Park, University of Illinois Chicago
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