Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–June 25, 2009. Following up on his remarks earlier this week at the National Charter Schools Conference in Washington D.C., U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today issued the following statement urging states to work with charter school operators to turn around struggling schools and provide innovation and choice[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–June 24, 2009. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today kicked off the Department’s summer reading campaign–“Read to the Top!” –with the children’s classic books “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” The Secretary read to young children, including his own, on the plaza of[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–June 24, 2009. The Obama Administration today announced a shorter, simpler, and more user friendly Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that will make it easier to apply for college financial aid. The changes—some of which are already in place while others will be phased in over the[Read More…]

MIAMI–(ENEWSPF)–June 23, 2009.  The most respected Florida and national children’s health, welfare and legal advocacy groups filed seven friend-of-the-court briefs before a Florida appeals court Monday urging the court to strike down a Florida law barring lesbians and gay men from adopting. The briefs were filed in support of an[Read More…]

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–June 22, 2009 – International Meat Co., Inc., a Chicago, Ill., establishment is recalling approximately 6,152 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The products subject to recall include: “5-pound, plastic[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–June 22, 2009.  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today called on charter school leaders to become active players in the national effort to turn around low-performing schools and to take aggressive actions to ensure their schools are held accountable for student results. “We need everyone who cares about public[Read More…]

Commentary Inside the First Amendment  By Charles C. Haynes First Amendment Center senior scholar If you believe with Thomas Jefferson that the First Amendment builds “a high wall of separation between Church & State,” then you will sorely miss Justice David H. Souter when he retires from the U.S. Supreme[Read More…]

Springfield, IL–(ENEWSPF)– State Rep. Al Riley (D-Olympia Fields) and state Sen. Deanna Demuzio (D-Carlinville) passed legislation out of both chambers of the General Assembly this session to create the Colorectal Cancer Screening and Treatment Pilot Program in parts of the state with the highest number of deaths due to colon[Read More…]

Chicago Heights, IL–(ENEWSPF)– Summer is alive with the sound of music featuring several concerts by the Prairie State College (PSC) Extreme Big Band, Jazz Pioneers Combo, and Faculty Jazz Ensemble. The Extreme Big Band and Jazz Pioneers Combo both perform a repertoire of jazz traditions and original compositions that span[Read More…]

The Park Forest Police Station. (Photo:Wendy Heise) Park Forest, IL–(ENEWSPF)–Editor’s Note: We continue our reporting on news from police reports. Besides covering the many stories from around Park Forest that otherwise might go unnoticed, we want to bring more complete coverage of police reports than is reported by other local[Read More…]