Newsroom

ROCKFORD – This week, the Rockford Education Association (REA) will file an unfair labor practice (ULP) against the Rockford Public School (RPS) District 205. RPS is knowingly ignoring an Illinois law when it comes to class sizes for mostly Hispanic, bilingual students. In addition to overcrowding Hispanic student classrooms, the district is also failing to fairly compensate educators for additional students. The REA has two pending grievances against the district. The…

SPRINGFIELD – HB 4416, the Unemployment Equity Act sponsored by Assistant Majority Leader Marcus C. Evans Jr. (D-33), passed the House Labor Committee. This is a critical step forward in ensuring frontline, public education workers are eligible to receive unemployment when school is not in session. “The Unemployment Equity Act…

SPRINGFIELD – Reginald “Reg” Weaver died Tuesday at age 86. Weaver was a lifelong educator and organizer who served as president of the Illinois Education Association from 1981 to 1987 and led the battle to ensure collective bargaining rights for Illinois educators. Weaver, who also spent 30 years as a…

SPRINGFIELD – A joint statement from Illinois Federation of Teachers Executive Vice President Cyndi Oberle-Dahm and Illinois Education Association President Karl Goeke on Governor JB Pritzker’s inaction and Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s support for a federal private school tax credit scheme: “At a moment when public education is under coordinated attack across…

SPRINGFIELD – Today, the Illinois Education Association (IEA) honored three individuals for their unwavering support for public education, students and educators. Both the IEA President’s Award and the IEA Friend of Education Award are among the association’s highest honors.   The awards were presented during the IEA Representative Assembly (RA). The RA is the legislative body of the IEA and setsthe agenda…

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Education Association (IEA) awarded seven educators from around the state for their outstanding commitment to their schools, students, communities and public education. This year’s Reg Weaver Human and Civil Rights Award was posthumously awarded to the late IEA President Al Llorens, who passed away Sept. 25, 2025. The awards were presented during the…

ALEDO – The unions that represent more than 140 employees is urging the community’s attendance at a special board of education meeting tomorrow night, March 3, in Aledo at 6:30 p.m. Mercer County School District 404 is recommending approximately 24 employees be laid off for the 2026-27 school year. The following…

ROCKFORD – The Rockford Education Association (REA) and the Rockford Public School District 205 Board of Education (BOE) have officially reached a deal on a new contract. Both the REA and BOE voted to ratify the new contract for teachers in the district. “We believe this is absolutely a big step in the right direction. This contract does what we…

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Education Association (IEA) released its eighth annual IEA State of Education report today, Mon., Feb. 23. It’s the only bipartisan poll monitoring Illinoisans’ views on all aspects of public schools. The findings were shared during a news conference at 10:30 a.m. today on Zoom. The poll…

SPRINGFIELD – A bipartisan poll conducted in January shows that 72% of Illinoisans strongly support the idea of paying college students as they complete the mandatory student teaching portion of their education. A poll of 1,000 Illinoisans conducted by Normington Petts and Associates and Next Generation Strategies in late January asked: “As you…

SPRINGFIELD – About 10 percent of Illinois voters will see an advisory referendum on their primary election ballots asking them to weigh in on whether they think the state should join a federal school voucher scheme. The Illinois Education Association (IEA) urges Illinoisans to vote “NO” on the question, which is misleadingly worded to make voters think no public money will be used. As it stands now, 80…

CHICAGO – City Colleges of Chicago adjunct faculty plan to pack the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting Thursday afternoon to call for a fair contract. City Colleges of Chicago Labor Organizing Committee (CCCLOC) represents a bargaining unit of more than 700 adjunct professors, part-time librarians and vocational lecturers at…

GENOA – The Genoa-Kingston Education Association (GKEA) is calling on the Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District 424 (CUSD 424) Board of Education (BOE) and Administration to put more safety measures in place and to be transparent about an upcoming assembly. This event is part of the nationwide History Rocks! tour…

ROCKFORD – Today the Rockford Education Association (REA) launched a community hotline so parent and community members can quickly and easily contact Rockford Public Schools (RPS) District 205 Superintendent Ehren Jarrett and voice their concerns about the ongoing contract negotiations. The hotline number is 1.866.806.7794. This comes after REA launched an email campaign that generated more than 8,500 emails to board members…

ROCKFORD – The Rockford Education Association (REA) voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. On Saturday, REA held an all-member meeting and conducted the vote. The vote gives the REA bargaining team the authority to call a strike.  “We have done everything we can to try to avoid this vote, but…

RIVER FOREST — The River Forest Education Association (RFEA) is taking steps to prepare for a strike after the River Forest School District 90 administration signaled an unwillingness to bargain any further on the teachers’ contract. District 90 initiated what’s known as the public posting process with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, which means the District 90 administration will send the…

Teachers will ask the board to commit to improving morale  ALTON – Alton teachers plan to attend tonight’s Alton Community School District 11 Board of Education (BOE) meeting after several actions by the board and administration that disrespect and devalue educators, including one board member openly referring to teachers as “peons.” The Alton Education Association (AEA) President Sara Carter plans to speak at tonight’s meeting. “The current…

ROCKFORD – Rockford teachers and community members will rally outside tonight’s Rockford Public School (RPS) District 205 Board of Education (BOE) meeting and then pack the meeting to demand a fair contract that respects teachers and fully supports students. “Our teachers are underpaid, their workloads are increasing and we don’t have…

Please attribute the following statement to IEA President Karl Goeke: “The Trump administration’s announcement just before the holidays that it will cut Full Service Community Schools funding on Dec. 31 puts 19,000 students across the state at risk. The grant money funds mental health, tutoring, food assistance, extracurricular and after-school…