List from Dan Montgomery, IFT President
Our list of wins is impressive!

• We passed Senate Bill 28, which gives local Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) joint committees greater control over teacher evaluations by allowing flexibility in the use of student growth measures. This is a major step toward reducing the harmful focus on standardized testing.

• We led bold demonstrations in Springfield and across the state on March 20, May Day, and June 14 (“No Kings Day”) in defense of democracy, public education, and workers’ rights.

• We continued the critical fight to fix Tier 2 pensions, helping to push legislation further than ever before towards that goal. 

• We hosted a major public education event in East St. Louis and are planning more engagement this fall.

• We stood against federal attacks on public education, particularly those that threaten funding for low-income students, special education, and the right to honest history in our curriculum.

These efforts were part of our broader mission to build schools and communities rooted in equity, not fear, and in democracy, not tyranny.
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Check the AFT Volunteer or nokings.org for locations and to RSVP for any local rallies near you.
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UPI and many more people opposed to tyranny protested on June 14. 
 
We had members throughout the state standing up for higher education today. We know members were in Chicago, DeKalb, Rockford, Charleston, Bloomington/Normal, Evanston, Springfield, and Macomb (an amazing turnout in Macomb!).

We even had members in New Orleans! We will be posting pictures as we receive them but please post your pictures from today.









 

CHARLESTON —  
Eastern Illinois University is already trying the strategy out.  For the past three years, Eastern Illinois University has been sending offer letters to juniors in neighboring counties – before the students start their applications.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law Monday that will roll out a similar program statewide. 
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...most of article omitted here...read the entire article from the button below...
 
The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and in Chicago are not participating in the initiative. That is because they admit students by academic program, according to University of Illinois System State Relations Assistant Vice President Jennifer Creasey. 
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Illinois Board of Higher Education spokesperson José García said students will begin receiving offer letters through the program in the fall of 2026. The direct admission process will be free for those students.