Lawmakers and lawmaker wannabes attended the fifth annual WSTU 571 Legislative Breakfast on Saturday, 7 November at the Doubletree Hotel (a union hotel) in Oakbrook. Hundreds of union brothers and sisters came to hear guests Senator Dick Durbin, State Comptroller Dan Hynes, Secretary of State Jesse White, and many others opine about the issues facing teachers and retired teachers.

The Illinois State Board of Education is holding three more hearings for the public to speak up on where budget priorities need to lie. These events will help ISBE to shape the budget request its leaders will send to the Governor for the coming fiscal year. This will be a particularly tough year, given the state's dire financial situation: we face a nearly $12 billion budget hole, and more revenues are desperately needed to stabilize critical services for kids and families.