In the Spotlight with Monte Larrick and David Smith this week is Lennie Jarratt, who is the project manager for the Center for Transforming Education at The Heartland Institute.
Lennie is the former managing editor (2013-2014) of Champion News, an Illinois based news website focused on reporting on education and Illinois politics. Jarratt was the managing editor (2004-2011) of Education Matters which researched education in local school districts across Illinois.
Jarratt has presented analysis on Common Core and education choice on Fox News, Breitbart, ABC Chicago and multiple radio outlets and newspapers across the United States. … Continue Reading
Written by Benjamin Smith
In the spotlight this week is Kirk Smith, the Executive Director of the Illinois Christian Home Educators. Kirk graduated from Greenville College, teaching and coaching for two years at the high school level before founding the House of Prayer church in Albion, IL, which he pastored for almost 25 years. Kirk and his wife Joely live in Bone Gap with their 11 children who range in age from toddler to young adult.… Continue Reading
Written by John Biver
“We the People,” begins the U.S. Constitution. Those same three words open the State of Illinois Constitution. Neither document reads “we the politicians” or “we the ambitious.” Our forefathers set it up so we would be governing ourselves. When not enough honest and smart people put the self in self government, we get what we have now: a fiscal and moral mess.
Fortunately, there are individuals stepping up to lead, and one good example is Renata Sliva who is a candidate for the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education in Will County.… Continue Reading
Written by Jon Schweppe
Generally, the first 50 days of the Trump Administration have been an absolute joy to watch. The media and the Left have been apoplectic as President Donald J. Trump largely honors his campaign promises and does exactly what he said he would do. Truthfully, Trump has been everything we hoped he would be and more.
Still, that’s not to say there haven’t been some disappointments. Here are four things I like and two things I dislike from the first 50 days:
Like: U.S.
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Tags: Antonin Scalia, Barack Obama, Betsy DeVos, Common Core, Donald J. Trump, fake news, George W. Bush, Hyde Amendment, Merrick Garland, Mexico City Policy, Neil Gorsuch, Obamacare, Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, Planned Parenthood, Trump Administration
Federal Issues | David E. Smith | 
March 13, 2017 7:02 AM | 
Comments Off on 4 Likes, 2 Dislikes from Trump’s First 50 Days
By Monte Larrick
We are thrilled to be able to endorse a solid Republican candidate for U.S. Senator, and a challenger to incumbent liberal Republican Mark Kirk. James Marter is pro-life, pro-marriage and understands the importance of religious liberty. On the other hand, Illinois’ incumbent junior senator has a long record of actively opposing conservative Christian values. Kirk has voted to continue tax dollars for Planned Parenthood, publicly celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage, co-sponsored the radical Equal Rights Amendment and voted against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.… Continue Reading
Written by Michelle Malkin
For the past several years, I’ve reported and tweeted on all the rotten aspects of the federal Common Core “standards” scheme — including dumbed-down curricula, technology boondoggles, intrusive data-mining and tracking, D.C. lobbying groups, corruption of math education, and left-wing indoctrination.
One aspect of the Fed Ed/Big Business alliance that has deserved far greater and deeper media scrutiny is the windfall that huge textbook companies have reaped from “alignment” with the phony government standards.… Continue Reading
Written by Jane Robbins
Several Republican presidential candidates had a great opportunity over the last two weeks to take the lead on an issue critical to millions of conservatives – federal control over public education. A couple helped their cause, a couple did not, and one blasted further down into the crater he’s been in from the beginning.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate followed the U.S. House in passing the conference report reauthorizing No Child Left Behind.… Continue Reading
Tags: Barack Obama, Common Core, Dick Durbin, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Mark Kirk, No Child Left Behind, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz
Education, Federal Elections, Federal Issues, Political | David E. Smith | December 11, 2015 10:32 AM | Comments Off on Republican Congress Thwarts American People, Passes Obama-Backed Education Bill
By Stanley Kurtz
When Common Core supporter Jeb Bush and Common Core opponent Marco Rubio faced off during last month’s Republican presidential debate, they barely seemed to disagree. After moderator Bret Baier posed a question on the clash between Common Core advocates, on the one hand, and opponents of federal involvement in education, on the other, Bush denied the contrast: “I don’t believe the federal government should be involved in the creation of standards, directly or indirectly, the creation of curriculum content.… Continue Reading
Tags: Arne Duncan, Bret Baier, Common Core, Daniel Pfeiffer, Emmett McGroarty, George Will, Jeb Bush, Joel Klein, Lyndsey Layton, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Race to the Top
Education, Federal Elections, Political | David E. Smith | September 2, 2015 4:00 AM | Comments Off on Jeb’s Misleading Talk on Common Core
Scott Walker reverses positions on illegal immigration.
Written by Robert Moon
RINO = Republican in Name Only
When Republicans un-apologetically embrace conservatism with the time-proven Reagan-Bush Sr. approach, they win by landslides. It happens every time. When they “reach across the aisle” and vote like Democrats on issue-after-issue with the failed Dole-McCain-Romney approach, our right-of-center electorate doesn’t show up and they always lose.
The following is a list of Scott Walker‘s liberal RINO policy positions and red flags from his background:
-In March of this year, he endorsed amnesty for illegal immigrants behind closed doors at a private GOP dinner, after reversing his position for the primaries.… Continue Reading
Written by William Sullivan
We all know the famous Republican Jeb! (as his campaign seems eager to avoid use of his last name and believes an exclamation point will get people excited about him, I’ll indulge that wish) who is now an immediate heavyweight in the Republican primary after his long-expected announcement for president.
But don’t let the R that often makes its way in front of his name fool you. Jeb! loves lots of things that Democrats and big government progressives love.… Continue Reading
