June 15, 2010

You Don't Have To Join The Army!



Part of baby boomer babble was the phrase "Join the army. See the world." But as it turns out, you don't have to join the army to see the world, especially if you're lucky enough to be an administrator in East Maine School District #63!

The Butterly on Education blog has been having a good old time discussing the subject of school administrators seeing the world, courtesy of taxpayers.


On a related travel note --

The PRU Crew would be more than happy to help foot the bill for sending anybody to Colorado for three weeks -- as long as they came back determined to reform teacher tenure rules.


On another unrelated travel note --

For those who've asked, we're told the discussion about many of the issues surrounding the PROAC resolution about O'Hare expansion seemed to fizzle at last night's City Council COW meeting. When the City completes the task of uploading the video, we'll post it here for our faithful readers to review.


On a final tangent travel note --

Last night's City Council COW meeting was jam packed with parking related issues. We're told the 5th ward's Benedict Alderman Ryan has asked the Council to consider purchase of property for future development and parking. Aside from the rank budgetary stupidity, tsk, tsk Ald. Ryan -- did you forget to disclose something?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reforming tenure is fine but to save taxpyers money and invite teachers into the real world it is the pension system that needs reform.

Anonymous said...

1:42:

Nail on the head.

Public pensions should be gotten rid of, period.

Anonymous said...

What did Ryan foreget to disclose?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 1:42 and 1:59,

I couldn't agree more. The public employee pensions are out of control and there is not much difference between salaries for public employees and those working in private businesses, and sometimes the government pays higher salaries than the private sector does for some jobs. The benefits in general for public employees without the guaranteed pensions are as good or better than in private business. Us taxpayers are getting bled dry by the constant increases in government spending and the economic forecasts are not looking very rosie for the near future.

ParkRidgeUnderground said...

Anon@12:36 --

Ald. Ryan should have disclosed his economic relationship with the agent for the property which Ald. Ryan is suggesting the City purchase.

However, the ethics ordinance as written leaves a question in our minds as to whether or not the economic relationship is legally subject to disclosure. The real estate agent for the property and owners is Ald. Ryan's former campaign treasurer. The ethics ordinance discusses disclosure from elected officials when a "petitioner" is seeking consideration from the City. Ald. Ryan appears to have raised the issue on his own -- we don't believe that for a minute but we're going with that in the face of a lack of evidence to the contrary.

So neither the real estate agent nor the property owners seem to fit the ordinance definition of a "petitioner."

However, ethically speaking the right and ethical thing Ald. Ryan should have done is to disclose his relationship and friendship with the real estate agent who would be in a position to obtain personal gain from what Ald. Ryan has proposed.

Anonymous said...

PRU, thank you for your response. The legal mumbo jumbo is hard to follow but I think I get what you're saying. I agree with your saying the right thing is to be up front.

Anonymous said...

Read the comment section of the post by Butterly, quite interesting as Dr. Clay responds.

Bean said...

...heh...you don't need to go to Spain OR Mexico for any spanish "language or cultural immersion"...

Just grab a much less expensive cab to the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago!!! Same thing!!!

Anonymous said...

Ryan must be crazy!!!!!! With all the talk about the budget and our losing services with workers being laid off this guy wants the City to BUY PROPERTY?????????? With what money??????????

My Alderman isn't much better but at least he didn't come up with this idiotic brainstorm!!!!!!

The next elections can't come soon enough for me. I hope the people living in the 5TH Ward can come up with someone or anyone to elect besides this idiot.

Anonymous said...

It's a toss up for who of the aldermen is the biggest idiot.

Anonymous said...

Pru, the Advocate said the council voted for a referendum on the airport.

Anonymous said...

8:27 if you go by the budget opinions Ryan has then Ryan is the biggest idiot!!!!!!