Illinois lawmakers have approved the Illinois School Reform Bill, and Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign it soon.  The bill passed the House by a 112-to-1 vote with one person voting present. 

The bill includes longer school days and school years in the Chicago schools.  There are currently high schools that start at 9:00 and let students out at 1:45 during the school weeks.  Additionally, teachers who are performing poorly will be easier to dismiss while merit pay for the best teachers will become possible.   Evaluations of teachers will change to ensure that qualifications and performance override seniority when determining which teachers will be retained for empoyment and which ones are dismissed. 

The measure will also make teachers’ strikes more difficult to enact.  In particular, the Chicago Teachers' Union will now need a three-fourths vote of its members to schedule a walk-out.  It was on this point, specifically, that the unions withdrew their support of the bill. 

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised the bill as being something all states should be looking at to improve education in the United States. 

During recent weeks, Rahm Emanuel has expressed extreme support for the bill.  Emanuel has said repeatedly that Chicago has the shortest school days and school year of any major city in the United States and it needs to change. 

Emanuel said: 

Chicago kids will no longer be held back by the shortest school day and school year in the country.  We finally are going to give the kids school day length and school year length to both achieve academically and have safety. 

On WLS-AM talk radio with Roe Conn, Emanuel was ecstatic when talking about the bill being passed.  He said the primary stakeholders in education are the children, and, he continued, they will benefit from this measure. 

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, WLS