Opinion
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Dramatic Drop in Illinois Reading Scores
Opinion -When confronted with an across-the-board decline in state reading scores among elementary and high school students in 1995, Illinois School Superintendent Joseph A. -
Funding Adequacy: Does Spending Matter?
Opinion -In its 1990 lawsuit against the State of Illinois, The Committee for Education Rights, a coalition of more than sixty school districts around the state, including the Chicago Public Schools, contended that the level of per-pupil spending in a school -
Reformers, Make No Small Plans
Opinion -More than fifty books, three hundred articles, and dozens of awards and prizes for his scholarship have made Dr. Herbert J. Walberg an internationally recognized expert in the field of education. He is one of three U.S. -
Whole Language Reading Instruction Faulted
Opinion -In a new report issued by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Dr. James J. Campbell, a Fulton, New York pediatrician, concludes that whole language reading instruction is responsible for a wide range of learning disorders. -
Choice Students Score Better
Opinion -A new performance analysis of Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s school voucher program has found that low-income minority students do better with choice. -
Choice Advances in Pennsylvania
Opinion -On November 5, Pennsylvania voters improved the prospects for educational choice in the state by increasing the Republican majorities in both chambers of the state government. -
Houston May Contract with Private Schools
Opinion -What’s a school superintendent to do when he has serious overcrowding, increasing enrollment, 84 school buildings in need of renovation, and taxpayers who just rejected a $390 million bond issue designed to address those problems? -
Minority Academic Progress Falters
Opinion -Reading scores for minority students are falling further behind those of white students, according to a report released in December by the Education Trust, a nonprofit group that monitors student performance. -
Failing Schools Get New Leadership for Turnaround
Opinion -As President Clinton prepares to take the helm of the nation in Washington, D.C. for another four years, a retired three-star army general has taken control over the “deplorable” public schools in that city. -
Tax Swap Not Needed to Fund Illinois Schools
Opinion -I doubt that I am the only taxpayer who trembles whenever Democrat Mike Madigan, the new Speaker of the Illinois House, and Republican Governor Jim Edgar say they'll work together on school finance reform. -
Black Conservative Wins State Panel Seat
Opinion -SPRINGFIELD--A conservative Burr Ridge executive criticized for his views against affirmative action will take a seat on the state community colleges board despite a stormy Senate confirmation. Though Senate Republicans favored Gov. -
Back to the Health Care Future
Opinion -President Clinton has opened the health care reform crypt with his recent announcement of a "National Commission on Health Care Quality." Make no mistake about this. -
Environment News You Probably Missed
Opinion -Coverage of environment issues on television and in newspapers during the past several months has been dominated by partisan politics. The Republicans propose reforms they say would make environmental protection less expensive and more effective. -
Restoring Fan Loyalty to Professional Sports
Opinion -By what right should Congress consider regulating or interfering with the business of professional sports . . . particularly a Congress that is a fierce champion of free markets and free enterprise? -
Joe Camel Is Innocent!
Opinion -Somebody seems to have declared open season on cigarette smokers and their suppliers. On behalf of the 25 percent of the adult population that smokes, may I offer a few words in defense of smoking? -
A Heartland Letter to People for the American Way
Opinion -People for the American Way (PFAW) recently issued a report titled "Buying a Movement: Right-Wing Foundations and American Politics. -
Is ComEd a Good Pig?
Opinion -Commonwealth Edison has been taking some heat lately from journalists and Chicago government officials. Not all of the criticism is deserved. -
The Future of Chlorine
Opinion -Numerous reports in the media have ascribed possible detrimental health effects to chlorine, dioxin and other chlorinated chemicals, often subjecting the public to exaggerated and misleading information. -
A Fable for Today?
Opinion -Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers (New York: Penguin Group, 1996). -
An Unscientific Fairy Tale
Opinion -Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers (New York: Penguin Group, 1996).Our Stolen Future is a book whose arrival was long awaited by activists in the environmental movement. -
The Politics of Chlorine
Opinion -A little-noticed provision of the recently passed Senate Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) reauthorization bill is expected to unleash a storm of protest from state and local public health officials who are fearful that the provision would increase the -
How to Eliminate Billions of Dollars of Pure Waste
Opinion -With the introduction into Congress of Rep. Dick Armey's (R-Texas) much-touted flat tax plan, many good arguments will be made about how alternatives to the income tax will promote saving, investment, and economic growth. -
Affirmative-Action Foe Calls Off Repeal Bill for More Study
Opinion -SPRINGFIELD--The conservative Republican lawmaker who last spring called for the repeal of affirmative action programs in Illinois now says the matter needs more study. Sen. -
The Devolution Revolution
Opinion -The winds of change are howling through the halls of American federalism. The states are clamoring to take responsibility for billions of dollars of social welfare programs now controlled by the federal government.