Rauschenberger on McKenna, State GOP Elders and School Choice
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger : [State GOP Chairman] Andy McKenna, Jr. has got his hands full. I think he needs to do better than he did in the last election... What you need out of the State Party Chair is ... someone who can raise money ... Andy needs to learn not to take advice from the kind of people he listened to in the last election.
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Sen. Rauschenberger: ...what is the fundamental difference between our higher educational system and our K-12 system? The real, fundamental difference is that Northwestern University doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Chicago doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Illinois doesn’t OWN any students. They have to earn them. They have to COMPETE.
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This coming week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," airing in the Chicago metro suburbs, features State Senator Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin] debating and discussing the issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. You may also[Watch the show with Senator Rauschenberger here].
See here for more about the show and Sen. Rauschenberger, a partial transcript of the show, links to the "Public Affairs," video podcast page and the Public Affairs suburban airing schedule.
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State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin] will be the featured guest on the Monday, Dec. 18 [8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 21] City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs."
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Jeff Berkowitz: Let’s talk about the State GOP. The Chairman is Andy McKenna, Jr. Is Andy doing a good job as State GOP Chairman?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin]: Andy has got his hands full. I think he needs to do better than he did in the last election, but Andy is certainly up to the job. What you need out of the State Party Chair is a senior ambassador, someone who can raise money and someone who the people in the Party can identify with. So, Andy is Okay, but Andy needs to learn not to take advice from the kind of people he listened to in the last election.
Jeff Berkowitz: Who was that?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Well, Bob Kjellander, for one [For our out of town readers, Kjellander, Treasurer for the Republican National Committee, is an Illinois Republican with strong ties to Karl Rove in the White House; Kjellander was said to have emerged recently as a key figure in an ongoing probe of corruption in Illinois; Also, House Minority Leader Tom Cross mailed a letter to various Republicans in yet another apparent effort to push Kjellander out as Illinois’ Republican National Committeeman]; Jim Edgar, for two [Again, for our out of state readers, Edgar was a two term, popular Illinois Republican Governor, last elected to public office in 1994]. You know, Jim Edgar was a good leader and in 1995, he had a firm grasp of Illinois politics, but when you spend the last six years in Colorado hiking with your grandchildren, you no longer have a grasp of where Illinois is. Jim Edgar’s vision was Judy Baar Topinka. We saw what the results of that were and as a Party, we need to close that chapter and move on to the next page.[Republican State Treasurer Topinka lost by nine points to incumbent Democratic Governor, Rod Blagojevich, in November, with the Green Party candidate, Rich Whitney, getting an astounding eleven points]
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Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: …Fundamentally, the [public school] system doesn’t work: your class sizes are too large in elementary and too small in high school; …we are teaching foreign language in high school instead of elementary schools; we are starting kids too late and keeping them too long. We need to re-think the whole [school] system, not just the State of Illinois, but the United States…
Jeff Berkowitz: Do you need more money? Can you do this with the current amount of money that is being spent?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: I think you have to do this with the current amount of money that is being spent and perhaps in the long run less resources.
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Jeff Berkowitz: …[I]f you could do this thing that I have spoken of before, where we take the $11,000 that we are spending in the Chicago Public Schools per kid, per year and give it to the parents, put it in the backpack and say, if you are happy, the kid, backpack and cash stay with the existing school, but if you are not, out goes the kid, backpack and cash—that scholarship, if you want to call it that, it gives parents school choice, you’d like that?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Absolutely.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s a concept you would sign on to?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Yes, what is the fundamental difference between our higher educational system and our K-12 system? The real, fundamental difference is that Northwestern University doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Chicago doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Illinois doesn’t OWN any students. They have to earn them. They have to COMPETE.
Jeff Berkowitz: [As to] public and private universities, in a sense there is almost no difference. We call one public, we call the other private, but in reality it is just an historical footnote. They are out there competing with each other for students.
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Absolutely, and that [higher education] choice gives us a system that performs far better than our K-12 system.
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State Senator Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin] as will be airing this coming week on Public Affairs in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See here for the suburban airing schedule] and as will be airing on Monday, Dec. 18 [8:30 pm on Cable, CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. You may also[Watch the Rauschenberger program here].
***************************************************
The City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," airs every Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City of Chicago.
****************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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Sen. Rauschenberger: ...what is the fundamental difference between our higher educational system and our K-12 system? The real, fundamental difference is that Northwestern University doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Chicago doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Illinois doesn’t OWN any students. They have to earn them. They have to COMPETE.
********************************************
This coming week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," airing in the Chicago metro suburbs, features State Senator Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin] debating and discussing the issues with show host and legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. You may also[Watch the show with Senator Rauschenberger here].
See here for more about the show and Sen. Rauschenberger, a partial transcript of the show, links to the "Public Affairs," video podcast page and the Public Affairs suburban airing schedule.
*******************************************************
State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin] will be the featured guest on the Monday, Dec. 18 [8:30 pm, Cable Ch. 21] City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs."
*************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: Let’s talk about the State GOP. The Chairman is Andy McKenna, Jr. Is Andy doing a good job as State GOP Chairman?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin]: Andy has got his hands full. I think he needs to do better than he did in the last election, but Andy is certainly up to the job. What you need out of the State Party Chair is a senior ambassador, someone who can raise money and someone who the people in the Party can identify with. So, Andy is Okay, but Andy needs to learn not to take advice from the kind of people he listened to in the last election.
Jeff Berkowitz: Who was that?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Well, Bob Kjellander, for one [For our out of town readers, Kjellander, Treasurer for the Republican National Committee, is an Illinois Republican with strong ties to Karl Rove in the White House; Kjellander was said to have emerged recently as a key figure in an ongoing probe of corruption in Illinois; Also, House Minority Leader Tom Cross mailed a letter to various Republicans in yet another apparent effort to push Kjellander out as Illinois’ Republican National Committeeman]; Jim Edgar, for two [Again, for our out of state readers, Edgar was a two term, popular Illinois Republican Governor, last elected to public office in 1994]. You know, Jim Edgar was a good leader and in 1995, he had a firm grasp of Illinois politics, but when you spend the last six years in Colorado hiking with your grandchildren, you no longer have a grasp of where Illinois is. Jim Edgar’s vision was Judy Baar Topinka. We saw what the results of that were and as a Party, we need to close that chapter and move on to the next page.[Republican State Treasurer Topinka lost by nine points to incumbent Democratic Governor, Rod Blagojevich, in November, with the Green Party candidate, Rich Whitney, getting an astounding eleven points]
***********************************************
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: …Fundamentally, the [public school] system doesn’t work: your class sizes are too large in elementary and too small in high school; …we are teaching foreign language in high school instead of elementary schools; we are starting kids too late and keeping them too long. We need to re-think the whole [school] system, not just the State of Illinois, but the United States…
Jeff Berkowitz: Do you need more money? Can you do this with the current amount of money that is being spent?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: I think you have to do this with the current amount of money that is being spent and perhaps in the long run less resources.
********************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: …[I]f you could do this thing that I have spoken of before, where we take the $11,000 that we are spending in the Chicago Public Schools per kid, per year and give it to the parents, put it in the backpack and say, if you are happy, the kid, backpack and cash stay with the existing school, but if you are not, out goes the kid, backpack and cash—that scholarship, if you want to call it that, it gives parents school choice, you’d like that?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Absolutely.
Jeff Berkowitz: That’s a concept you would sign on to?
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Yes, what is the fundamental difference between our higher educational system and our K-12 system? The real, fundamental difference is that Northwestern University doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Chicago doesn’t OWN any students. The University of Illinois doesn’t OWN any students. They have to earn them. They have to COMPETE.
Jeff Berkowitz: [As to] public and private universities, in a sense there is almost no difference. We call one public, we call the other private, but in reality it is just an historical footnote. They are out there competing with each other for students.
Sen. Steve Rauschenberger: Absolutely, and that [higher education] choice gives us a system that performs far better than our K-12 system.
**************************************************
State Senator Steve Rauschenberger [R-Elgin] as will be airing this coming week on Public Affairs in 35 Chicago Metro suburbs [See here for the suburban airing schedule] and as will be airing on Monday, Dec. 18 [8:30 pm on Cable, CANTV] on the City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs. You may also[Watch the Rauschenberger program here].
***************************************************
The City of Chicago edition of "Public Affairs," airs every Monday night at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] throughout the City of Chicago.
****************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com
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