Often regarded as residing on the fringe of American politics, third parties have been viewed by their supporters as an important alternative to the platforms presented by the country’s two major parties. We talk to a couple of Green Party candidates on the ballot this year, including presidential candidate Jill Stein.
Data released yesterday shows that a mere 11 high schools, or two percent
of the Illinois' 671 high schools, meet the No Child Left Behind progress target.
In the second presidential debate, undecided voters asked the
candidates questions on a range of important issues.
President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were, for example, made to discuss outsourcing, which has been the central issue in Illinois’ 17th Congressional district race, and reproductive rights, which has emerged as a key issue in the 8th and 10th Congressional district contests.
There was also a clash on immigration policy and priorities, an issue ignored in the first debate, which mostly focused on fiscal policy.
At
one point, President Barack Obama argued that,
while obviously restrained by Congress and changing circumstances, a
president mainly tries to do what they say they will do in their
campaign. Read more »
Diane Ravitch, who was assistant secretary of education under George
H.W. Bush and then became a national spokeswoman against the
so-called education reform movement, says that Chicago has taken the
lead on education reform – and the revolt against such policies.
Now
a professor at New York University, Ravitch told reporters at the
Chicago Teachers Union headquarters Monday that the strike gave
“vicarious exhilaration” to teachers across the nation that were “beaten
down” by evaluations based on standardized tests and charter schools.
Ravitch says
Chicago is distinctive on education issues because of a “more militant”
teachers' union, noting that in much of the south, west and now to an
extent in northern states such as Wisconsin, “Teacher collective
bargaining rights are eliminated.” Read more »
Calls to raise the state’s minimum wage were heard throughout the
streets of Chicago’s downtown area Thursday, as members of a local
community group picketed outside of a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant alleging
its crew employees did not earn enough in order to keep up with rising
living expenses.
About 25 members of the community organization Action Now
took part in the rally, which was held near the corner of State and
Lake Streets, as demonstrators held signs and chanted slogans similar to
what has been seen over the past year at a typical Occupy Chicago
protest.
The group said the state’s minimum wage of $8.25
an hour did not constitute a “livable” wage, and only helped to keep
low-wage workers impoverished.
As Chicago's Gay Pride weekend kicks off, Progress Illinois talks to some of the 25 couples that recently filed suit, along with Lambda Legal and ACLU, to challenge the constitutionality of an
Illinois law that denies gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry.
A bill moving through the Illinois General Assembly would create new
regulations for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the controversial oil
and gas drilling technique that can pollute drinking water and is set to begin in the state next month.
The Illinois State Board of Education has sent the U.S. Department of
Education a 685-page waiver in an attempt to opt out of federal No Child
Left Behind requirements.
In the second presidential debate, undecided voters asked the
candidates questions on a range of important issues.
Diane Ravitch, who was assistant secretary of education under George
H.W. Bush and then became a national spokeswoman against the
so-called education reform movement, says that Chicago has taken the
lead on education reform – and the revolt against such policies.
Calls to raise the state’s minimum wage were heard throughout the
streets of Chicago’s downtown area Thursday, as members of a local
community group picketed outside of a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant alleging
its crew employees did not earn enough in order to keep up with rising
living expenses.
