By Jon Marcus and Holly K. Hacker/The Hechinger Report

Decked out in black tie and formal dresses, guests at Mr. Jefferson’s Capital Ball finished their salmon with horseradish sauce just as the band lured them onto the dance floor with classics including “Shout” and “My Girl.” Some of the people who paid up to $400 a couple to attend the event in the Grand Ballroom of the historic Mayflower Hotel joined in the Electric Slide.
The ball was more than just another Friday night party to ease Washington into the weekend. It had the commendable purpose of raising money for scholarships to the University of Virginia.
But not the kind of scholarships that go to low-income students based solely on their financial need. The proceeds from Mr. Jefferson’s Capital Ball are destined for merit aid for applicants who have the high grade-point averages and top scores on entrance tests that help institutions do well on college rankings. Merit aid can also attract middle- and upper-income students whose families can pay the rest of the tuition bill and therefore furnish badly needed revenue to colleges and universities.
As institutions vie for income and prestige in this way, the net prices they’re charging the lowest-income students, after discounts and financial aid, continue to rise faster on average than the net prices they’re charging higher-income ones, according to an analysis of newly released data the universities and colleges are required to report to the U.S. Department of Education.

Read More

Posted on December 3, 2014

By The Illinois Public Interest Research Group

A coalition of good government and media organizations joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan Monday in voicing strong opposition to a recently introduced measure in the Illinois General Assembly that would significantly weaken the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The measure, introduced last Tuesday, would expand the ability of a government body to withhold information from the public, and make it harder for citizens to use the legal system when a government body is violating transparency laws.
“At a time when we should all be working to increase transparency and accountability in government, this bill takes us backwards,” said Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “This bill would make it significantly more difficult for members of the public to obtain government records, weakening the state’s most important transparency law.”
Groups opposing the bill include the Better Government Association, Citizen Advocacy Center, Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), ACLU of Illinois, Illinois Press Association and Illinois Broadcasters Association.

Read More

Posted on December 2, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

Lakefront Legos. Plus: Harold & Slim On Jane; Exercises In Disdain: City Council vs. Board of Ed; Pension Police Powers; Solving The NYT’s Middle East Coverage As An Example Of Newspapers’ Continuing Failure To Think Digitally First And Let Print Be An Afterthought.

Read More

Posted on November 23, 2014

The Excusable, The Malicious And The Incompetent

A response to the Chicago Maroon’s “Problems At The Polls,” which we linked to in a Papers column last week, by a faithful reader with justifiable reason to remain anonymous.
I read that Maroon piece. Some of it struck me as hyperbolic undergraduate stuff, but a lot of it was on target.
Election Day is a mess. We (collectively) rent thousands of rooms to host elections, and things go wrong all the time. Buildings are locked, they forget to give out keys or the owners oversleep. The rooms aren’t big enough, don’t have enough electrical outlets (which is really on the local election authority for renting such a place, but maybe they were lied to). Judges, some of them (retirees and students, mostly) are terrific but a lot of them are hacks who can’t be bothered to keep up with new technology and new statutes. Again, the local election authority should be purging the worst of the worst, and the move to electronic poll books should also serve to push some out, as there is now no “station” in a polling place for the technologically averse to sit.
Part of the problem, and I say this not as an excuse but as a factor that has to be considered in any solution, is that we don’t vote all that often and so Election Day has a slapdash quality to it. Any effort to organize 7,000 people to work at 1,600 locations in suburban Cook County (to say nothing of Chicago or the collars or . . . ) for a single day and then evaporate, is going to be rough. Maybe (and I’m almost serious) election authorities can learn something from those Spirit Halloween stores. They’re open for six to eight weeks a year and have more money behind them, and if they fail to open on time no one really cares or is hurt, but still.

Read More

Posted on November 18, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

Look in the mirror, newsies. Plus: Jane Byrne Sucked; Illini, Bears Need Tougher Beers; CPS Office of Accountability Is Super Ironic; Meet The New Swaps, Same As The Old Swaps.

Read More

Posted on November 15, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

Phony Bruce, Quinn’s Rose Garden, Late & Never, Journesia, and The Combine Transitions. Plus: They came to watch Nik Wallenda live, not die.

Read More

Posted on November 8, 2014

By Beachwood Labs

10. Last-minute push by the secret Ketchup Lobby.
9. Voters appreciated the boldness of his lies in contrast to Quinn’s slippery evasions.
8. Illinois’ new One Dollar, One Vote Act paid off.

Read More

Posted on November 6, 2014

By The Illinois Public Interest Research Group

As the dust begins to clear on this year’s midterms, it is clear that deep-pocketed donors played an outsized role in funding our elections. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, as of reporting on Election Day, spending from Super PACs, c(4)s, and other outside groups reached $553 million, 80% higher than similar spending in the 2010 midterm elections. And this spending is disproportionately from megadonors – in fact, according to campaign reporting to date, just 17 donors to Super PACs spent as much as the at-least 793,000 small donors to Congressional candidates.

Read More

Posted on November 6, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

Remember, you can print this out and take it into the voting booth with you!
Governor: Grimm or Quinn? Because you are not to vote for Bruce Rauner. Take it from fellow Republicans Jim Edgar and Kirk Dillard (and Bill Brady). The man has just run the most disingenuous campaign this side of Obama ’08 and Emanuel ’10 and must not be rewarded for it. Plus, the last thing we want to do is bring any amount of satisfaction to Michael Ferro. And a vote for Rauner is a vote for Ferro.
So Quinn, right? Not so fast. Quinn has not earned your vote either. He made a decision early on in his accidental governorship to throw in with the hacks in order to keep his job and many people have been hurt because of it; namely social service providers and recipients.

Read More

Posted on November 4, 2014

By Millionaire Corner

The majority of investors (58 percent) at all wealth levels believe the U.S. would benefit from a third viable political party, according to the latest survey from Spectrem Group’s Millionaire Corner.
Ultra-wealthy investors, however – those with $5 million or more in net worth, not including primary residence – are divided about the issue: 50 percent think a third viable political party would be beneficial, while the other half do not.
To Improve Congress’ Approval Rating . . .

Read More

Posted on November 3, 2014