 Debra Guzak is involved in early childhood development. She has many concerns and is very active in researching the impact of legislation that limits the ability of teachers to instruct and give of their talents and time to students. For example, some legislation that impacts teachers was when the State of Illinois recently capped their contribution to pension funds at 6% in new contracts. This past year, the state also pushed off $2.3 billion in public pension fund obligations. It has been estimated that the current state pension fund is already $35 billion in the red, which is the highest in the nation. By reducing the states contibution, local districts are left trying to make up the difference for retiring teachers.
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 Michele Hasz teaches 7th grade language arts. She is concerned that the No Child Left Behind Act has failed to fully address all issues involved. Teachers are forced to try and have students meet a standard, yet no additional support structures have been built into the program. In order for students to truly succeed, the responsibility can not be on the schools and teachers alone. More outreach programs should be in place to educate students as well as parents so parents are also given the means and tools needed to help students succeed. A common thread within many of the comments heard about this Act is that it is leaving children behind. The hardest hit schools are in low income areas. These are the schools that need the most assistance; they do not need to be put on probation.
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Reverend Anthony W. Williams |
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 Reverend Williams (Libertarian candidate for the Illinois Second Congressional District) is very passionate about reform and growth in the district. Rev. Williams also believes in empowerment through education and that we need to work to improve the current system. We also discussed why Congressman Jackson is supporting a third airport in the eleventh district. We need to create jobs here in the second district, where our constituents live and we need to represent and work for them. First and foremost, let us bring more jobs back into this district. Thank you, Reverend Williams, for your time in discussing issues that impact us all. |
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Ms. Harris is concerned about the current state of our educational system and the support structures afforded to students. She currently attends college in the city. Janice was not given training in how to find ways to fund her education. As she works to provide herself with an education, her concerns now have shifted to anxiety over how to pay for her rapidly increasing debt to the college. Failing to support motivated students like Janice, we not only deny them opportunities for success, but also our communities suffer by not letting these bright young people use their gifts to make our society better. We need to create ways to further empower and support our students as they work to make a better life for themselves. |
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 Mr. Williams was extremely helpful during our entire visit. After the conclusion of the forum, there was time to discuss several topics with him. Mr. Williams echoed many of the views we had heard from others, including concerns over taxes, education, civil rights and much more. Mr. Williams expressed his desire to see current programs or new programs put in place to help lower income people help themselves. What so many people want is an opportunity to better improve their situations and provide for their families. There are too many people that feel they have no where to turn for assistance as many of the current systems have failed to assist them. Thank you for taking time to discuss so many issues and expressing your concerns and ideas. |
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Citizen concerns