Recent Headlines

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Five Peoria Public Schools are getting new names, three are being re-named after Peoria trailblazers.

Peoria Public School Board President Gregory Wilson spearheaded the proposal after some schools were said to have names with racist ideals.

“Many of the schools that were changed had some type of level of either racism, slave owners, or discriminatory practices amongst minority groups,” said Wilson.

Calvin Coolidge Middle School will be changed to Harold B. Dawson Middle School, Harrison Community Learning Center will be changed to Annie Jo Gordon Community Learning Center, and Roosevelt Magnet School will be changed to The Elise Ford Allen Academy.

Three people in the Peoria community who have all passed away in the last 15 years will now have their names posted on schools come Fall.

Wilson said, “It officially takes place once the students go back to school. They’ll be walking into a school building that may have a different name attached to it.”

Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth said having a school named after her mother is an honor.

“Seeing that my mother, 12 years posthumously, has been able to have such a phenomenal honor bestowed upon her, is something that not just myself, but my entire family, feels a great sense of pride in,” said. Rep. Gordon-Booth.

She said changing these schools names will allow the students to dream bigger.

Rep. Gordon-Booth said, “The young people in our community that walk into those doors and attend those schools, they not only can dream to be like the folks that were, that those schools were named after, they can surpass them.”

With a school population carrying 78% of Black and Brown students, the board said they are working to incorporate diversity for all its students in the school names.

“Our city is made up of so many different individuals that really make our city great,” said Wilson.

To read more about each person a school was named after, click here.

Lake County voters will decide few state legislative primaries when they head to the polls in June.

They include a three-way race to replace Democratic state Rep. Sam Yingling in the 62nd House District. The Democratic primary field is Laura Faver Dias of Grayslake, Thomas Maillard of Waukegan and Terry Wilke of Round Lake Beach.

Dias is a Grayslake village board member, Maillard is director of government operations for the city of Waukegan, and Wilke has represented Lake County Board District 16 for 14 years, doubling as Avon Township supervisor for four of them.

Republican Adam Shores of Grayslake is likely to face the Democratic nominee in the November general election.

Yingling is vacating his House seat to run for the 31st Senate District seat being vacated by the retiring Democratic state Sen. Melinda Bush.

He’ll face fellow Democrat and former state Rep. Mary Edly-Allen of Libertyville in the June 28 primary. Edly-Allen represented the 51st House District for one term before narrowly losing her 2020 reelection bid.

Yingling or Edly-Allen likely will face Republican Adam Solano in November.

Two Democrats have filed to try to unseat Republican Chris Bos in the 51st House District. Chelsea Laliberte Barnes of Palatine and Nabeela Syed of Inverness will face off in the June primary.

Laliberte Barnes is a social worker and founder and executive director of Live4Lali, an area nonprofit that seeks to help people affected by mental health and substance abuse issues.

Syed works for a nonprofit in digital strategy and has experience organizing Asian American voters in the recent U.S. Senate election in Georgia.

All state House and Senate seats are up for election this year. The matchups in other Lake County districts are set for the Nov. 8 general election.

In the 26th Senate District, incumbent Republican Senate Leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods will face Democratic challenger Maria Peterson of North Barrington.

Peterson is a newcomer to state politics. She ran in 2018 for the District 17 seat on the Lake County Board, losing to Republican Michael Danforth by about 650 votes. McConchie has represented the 26th Senate District since 2016.

In the 52nd House District, incumbent Martin McLaughlin, a Barrington Hills Republican, will face Democratic challenger Mary Morgan of Island Lake.

Morgan works in the curriculum and instruction office for Wauconda Unit District 118. McLaughlin, who previously was the village president of Barrington Hills, is seeking his second House term.

In the 61st House District, incumbent Joyce Mason, a Gurnee Democrat, will face Republican challenger Peter Pettorini of Lindenhurst.

Pettorini is an English teacher at Round Lake High School and was elected in 2021 to the Millburn Elementary District 24 board. Mason, who previously served on the Woodland Elementary School District 50 board, is seeking her third term in the House.

In the 63rd House District, incumbent Republican Steven Reick will face Democratic newcomer Brian Meyers of Crystal Lake.

Meyers is a retired teacher who serves as a precinct committeeman for the McHenry County Democratic Party.

Tom Weber, Lake Villa Republican, is the only candidate for either party running in the 64th House District contest. Weber has represented the district since 2019.

Though usually held in March, the primary this year was pushed back to June because the pandemic delayed the release of the 2020 census data.

SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – Legislation passed out of the Illinois House aims to pay back public school teachers for the cost of their education, but opponents to the bill say it costs too much and does too little.

Teachers would have to apply for the reimbursement program, but the legislation said they would be eligible if they have graduated or are currently in a state university program, and if they work in public schools or have worked in them for one year at the time of their application.

Students are responsible to pay for their schooling, but afterward, if they are a part of the public school system, they will be reimbursed for one-tenth of the tuition and fees they paid, once a year for up to ten years.

The National Education Association estimates educators owe an average of $55,800. As an example, if they paid $50,000, they would receive a $5,000 reimbursement once a year.

Bill sponsor Rep. Sue Scherer (D – Decatur), a retired teacher herself, said she hopes this legislation will address one of the worst teacher shortages in decades.

“It addresses this dying need we have for teachers and it also secures that they will teach in a public school in Illinois for ten years,” Scherer said.

“We have the most serious teacher shortage in the history of our country,” she continued.

However, Republican members of the House argued the bill comes with too high of a cost — $1.4 billion dollars — and would reimburse everyone without any qualifications. Scherer countered that the amount she was given for the cost of the program would be $88 million dollars for the next fiscal year. over 18 years, it would add up to the $1.4 billion.

Both Rep. Avery Bourne (R – Farmersville) and Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R – Jacksonville) gave examples of rich family members paying for education that then would be reimbursed with tax dollars.

“I want to encourage there to be more students who go to be teachers in Illinois, we have a dramatic teacher shortage,” Bourne said. “This bill does not help the people it’s intended to help.”

There were no estimates of how many reimbursements would be given to students who had their education paid for by wealthy family members.

Additionally, Rep. Jeff Keicher (R – Sycamore) said funding should be given to already-existing programs, such as Golden Apple which directs teachers into high-demand areas for educators.

There are similar programs where tuition reimbursement is used as an incentive for recruiting for lawyers. Additional programs are under consideration for other under-staffed professions, like nursing, pharmacists and law enforcement.

“We are competing with every kind of high-paying job on earth, to try and get someone to become a teacher,” Scherer said. “There are so many reasons they can think of for why they don’t want to do it. Please don’t give them this excuse also.”

The bill passed 72-40 and now heads to the Senate.

Copyright 2022 WGEM. All rights reserved.