You don’t have to wait until Nov. 6 to cast your ballot FOR IEA recommended candidates and AGAINST the Constitutional amendment that would strip school boards of local control of their schools.
You can cast an early ballot and even register to vote until Nov. 3 at your county clerk’s office. Call ahead for the hours of operation.
It’s important that the amendment be defeated, so please encourage your friends and family to VOTE NO. You can use these talking points:
- The proposed amendment on the fall election ballot is another greedy power grab by the same politicians responsible for the pension mess.
- The amendment would mean that a majority of a school board wouldn’t be sufficient to approve an agreement with employees; a 3/5ths vote would be required, meaning the board’s minority could control the majority. The amendment takes local control away from the board.
- The amendment would make it harder for school boards and school employees to work out fair agreements that would allow districts to deliver a good education for students and attract and retain quality teachers.
- The Illinois League of Woman Voters calls the amendment “undemocratic” and Protestants for the Common Good, as well as IEA, IFT, AFSCME and the other main unions, also oppose it.
- This amendment discriminates against workers and takes local control away from school boards.
- Please vote NO on the amendment.
For more information on the amendment, visit the IEA website. Contact your IEA regional office to get the VOTE NO stickers!
Local IEA Members make candidate recommendations through IPACE. Read more about how IPACE works.
Let us design your logo
Your community should know what you’re doing for students. We can help by desiging a brand that you can use on T-shirts, stickers, pencils and more.
Tell everyone how important your local is to your classroom, your school and your community.
Ghouls, goblins and ghosts!
You can have spooky savings on Halloween costumes and decor by using your membership card. And don’t forget to save on the dog’s costume, too, from PetFoodDirect.
All savings are available by visiting the IEA website, clicking on the membership card icon, entering your 10-digit member ID number and clicking “go.”
Or, shop using the mobile app:
- Search for “My Deals” in the iTunes App Store or via GooglePlay, or click here for iTunes, or here for GooglePlay.
- Download the “My Deals” app.
Enter your registration code, which is 9329 plus your IEA 10-digit member ID number.
ISBE needs your help
The Illinois State Board of Education has posted three surveys in an attempt to gather information from the field about the effectiveness of the following reforms:
Common Core
Educator Evaluation
Licensure and the Teaching Profession
Please take the time to complete the surveys and have your voice heard at the state level!
Planning a trip over the holidays?
“We saved over $60 on hotels during our trip to New York. It really helped.” ~ Emma G.
Thanks to the buying power of over three million, NEA members are able to save on travel, appliances, apparel and more! Visit the NEA Member Benefits website, register to enter the members’ only section and click on Click & Save to start saving today!
The Starbucks gift card goes to …
Congratulations to Andrea M., early childhood teacher, Schaumburg Education Association, winner of the $25 Starbucks gift card!
Next week we’ll be giving a $25 Panera gift card to a lucky insider reader who sends an email to IEA Listens with Panera in the subject line.
Keep reading the insider! More deals, discounts and tickets to come!
Members on the campaign trail
We asked what you are doing for the 2012 campaigns and the Springfield Education Association showed us!
SEA members have worked phone lines, stuffed envelopes, campaigned door-to-door urging neighbors to vote no on the constitutional amendment, and sent email messages.
Let us see what you’ve been doing! Send your stories to IEA Listens.
Illinois Education Association is an association of more than 130,000 members composed of Illinois elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty and staff, educational support professionals, retired educators and college students preparing to become teachers. 
It is an embarrassment that the IEA and IPACE recommended Tom Cross and Judy Biggert as viable candidates in regards to education policies. What a shame. I sat in on one of the meetings and all I could do is shake my head.