Better than Carol Marin w/ Judy Woodruff: Berkowitz w/State Rep. Lang on the Obama Senate Replacement, Blago & Education.On Cable and soon Streaming
State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie): No, I am not a big fan of charter schools.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t like Charter schools? How do you have accountability if you don’t have competition?
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State Rep. Lang: ...[Governor Blagojevich] will appoint [as the next U. S. Senator from Illinois] whoever is good for the Governor. He won't necessarily appoint who is good for Illinois, who is good for the citizens of our State. Although, they might accidentally coincide, the truth is the Governor will choose whoever the Governor thinks will help the Governor.
*****************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: You know [the caps on the number of Charter Schools] are there from the teachers unions. You know they just put them there—it is an anti-competitive process.
State Rep. Lang: Except I am not here protecting the teachers’ unions.[See, below, for more of the transcript].
**************************************
Go here to watch Carol Marin w/ Judy Woodruff on Obama transition,cabinet, etc. Who is better- Berkowitz or Marin?
****************************
This week’s suburban edition of "Public Affairs," features State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie)discussing and debating with Show Host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz potential replacements for Senator Obama, e.g., Cong. Jackson, Cong. Schakowsky, Cong. Davis and Cong. Gutierrez, and how Rep. Lang thinks Gov. Blagojevich will make that decision, Blagojevich’s performance as Governor, who is likely to be the new Illinois Senate President, education and accountability, eliminating pork, the Illinois piglet book, more gaming and much, much more. See, below, for a more detailed list of topics discussed with Rep. Lang.
See, below, for the Chicago Metro suburban airing schedule of "Public Affairs,"
****************************************************
You can soon watch this week's suburban episode of "Public Affairs," with Rep. Lou Lang here. This show was taped on November 16, 2008.
******************************************************
A partial transcript of this week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," is included, below;
Public Education: Too much money, too little competition?
Jeff Berkowitz: Education, some people say we’re spending too much, too little reform. What do you say?
State Rep. Lou Lang(D-Skokie): We are not spending too much on education but we should take a look at where we are spending our dollars. We should provide for more accountability.
Jeff Berkowitz: More competition?
State Rep. Lang: I am not for more competition.
More Charter Schools?
Jeff Berkowitz: Charter schools?
State Rep. Lang: No, I am not a big fan of charter schools.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t like Charter schools? How do you have accountability if you don’t have competition?
State Rep. Lang: Until charter schools are required to hire teachers who have gone to college and have teaching credentials, I will not be for charter schools.
Substantive courses or “how to teach,” courses for teachers?
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t think someone can come in with a Master’s degree, a Ph. D., know the discipline [Math, Science or English] and teach, [because] they haven’t taken four years of how to teach?
State Rep. Lang: I think the problem here is that we’ve said if you’re a computer expert, you can automatically, without taking any teaching classes, come in and teach kids how to use computers and the answer-- is no you can’t. You might be an expert but not be able to impart the information to the students.
Jeff Berkowitz: Which would you rather have- a person who knows nothing about computers but has a teaching credential or a person who doesn’t have a teaching credential but knows a lot about computers?
State Rep. Lang: But, that’s the whole point—
Jeff Berkowitz: If you had to choose between those two—
State Rep. Lang: But, that’s a false choice.
Jeff Berkowitz: But, you don’t get both.
State Rep. Lang: But, that’s what we need in terms of a revolution in education. We need to seek both and everything else is a false choice. So, I would submit to you that education isn’t as good as it ought to be and we have to make it better.
Too many teaching credentials required?
Jeff Berkowitz: Yeah, in the olden days, it was pretty good. And, we didn’t have teaching credentials and we had people who knew their disciplines. That’s how you learned. That’s how I learned. Those days are over, right?
State Rep. Lang: I think those days are over but--
Jeff Berkowitz: So, now we’ve got to get people who know their disciplines, know history, know English, know math, but they didn’t go thru four years of how to teach.
State Rep. Lang: Why can’t we do both?
Jeff Berkowitz: Because …there are people out there who’ve already got the four years of training in their discipline. They’d like to come in and teach. They could do that. They don’t want to spend four years of doing something else, of going thru a credentialing process that really doesn’t relate to how they teach.
Special credentialing for those who know their disciplines?
State Rep. Lang: So, for those folks we could have special credentialing programs where at least they have some idea about how to communicate with young people.
Jeff Berkowitz: So, you don’t want to lift the caps that the legislature has set limiting the number of charter schools [in the suburbs, City of Chicago and Downstate].
State Rep. Lang: I do not. I am not for that.
Teachers’ unions: Bad or Good for the public?
Jeff Berkowitz: You know [the caps] are there from the teachers unions. You know they just put them there—it is an anti-competitive process.
State Rep. Lang: Except I am not here protecting the teachers’ unions.
Jeff Berkowitz: You’re not? It sounds like it though. I mean, with all due respect, that’s what it sounds like.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
State Rep. Lang: Just because in the end I agree with [the teachers' unions] does not mean that I am for the position that I have because they have asked me to or they have forced me into it.
Jeff Berkowitz: I understand, but you are adamantly opposed to school vouchers and school choice, right?
State Rep. Lang: Absolutely opposed.
Jeff Berkowitz: And, that happens to be the position of the teachers’ unions.
State Rep. Lang: Well, they’re in the right place.
Jeff Berkowitz: You think?
State Rep. Lang: Maybe I forced them into it.
*************************************************
The program with State Rep. Lou Lang was taped on November 16, 2008
****************************************************
State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), going on twenty-two years in the Illinois State House, debates and discusses the issues with show host and executive legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. Lang has practiced law for more than thirty years. He is the Democratic Floor Leader in the State House.
Rep. Lang represents a good portion of the southern part of Skokie, all of Lincolnwood, part of Morton Grove, most of the 50th Ward of Chicago and part of the 49th. Lang chairs the House Gaming Committee. You can learn more about Rep. Lang here. Rep. Lang said that Gov. Blagojevich and he do not get along because he “goes around the State, telling the truth about [the Governor].”
Topics discussed in this week's program with Rep. Lang include potential replacements for Senator Obama, e.g., Cong. Jackson, Cong. Schakowsky, Cong. Davis and Cong. Gutierrez, and how Rep. Lang thinks Blago will make that decision, including how Blago’s interest in strengthening his base for his 2010 re-election bid might interact with the interests of those who are a part of Team Obama, officially and unofficially.
Further, Rep. Lang answers whether the appointment of a replacement for Obama should have a racial litmus test. Also, how does the Obama replacement process interact with the decision about a potential third term for U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (N.D. IL), and his pending criminal investigations of the Blagojevich and Daley administrations?
Also discussed is Blagojevich’s performance as a Governor, who is likely to be the new Illinois Senate President and the rules for picking a new Senate President. Is there a five billion dollar backlog in the state’s bills? A potential increase in the State income tax? Will the legislature start using zero based budgeting? Should the State legislature consider eliminating the pork, as set out in the Illinois Piglet book prepared by the Illinois Policy Institute? Was the long ago Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) [1896-1969] right when he said, “a billion dollars here, a billion dollars there and before you know it, you’re talking real money.
Should Illinois issue the State's 10th Casino license to the highest bidder? Should the lottery be leased to the private sector for the next thirty years? Can the lottery be leased long term in light of a recent U. S. Department of Justice issued opinion?
**************************************************
Public Affairs Chicago Metro suburban airing schedule.
The show featuring State Rep. Lou Lang is airing this week in the North and Northwest Chicago Metro suburbs in its regular slot:
Tonight (Tuesday) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette
and Tonight (Tuesday) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.
*****************************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show featuring State Rep. Lang will also air throughout the City of Chicago on Monday night, Nov. 24, 2008, at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 (CANTV) and that same night on cable in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
*************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show featuring State Rep. Lou Lang will also air throughout the City of Rockford (and in surrounding areas) next Thursday night [Thanksgiving], Nov. 24th at 8:00 pm on Cable Ch. 17. The surrounding areas reached by Ch. 17 include Byron, Cedarville, Cherry Valley, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Mount Morris, New Milford, Portions of Ogle County, Oregon, Polo, Stillman Valley, Winnebago, Portions of Boone County and Poplar Grove.
*********************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show featuring Rep. Lou Lang is also likely to air throughout the State of Illinois on the Illinois Channel. Details for that airing schedule are TBA.
**********************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**************************************************
Recently posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include shows taped with former pol and current pundit and PR guy, Chris Robling,; Chairman and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, John Tillman, Senator Rutherford , former Republican Primary candidate for Governor Ron Gidwitz, Cong. Don Manzullo (R-Egan, 16th CD), State Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), Robert Abboud (D-Barrington Hills, 2008 16th CD Dem. Nominee), two shows featuring clips and interviews, primarily from the Democratic and Republican National Party conventions, go here to watch a 2nd Convention clip show and shows with Cook County Cmsr. and Obama Media Team Member Forrest Claypool and much more.
**********************************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t like Charter schools? How do you have accountability if you don’t have competition?
**************************************
State Rep. Lang: ...[Governor Blagojevich] will appoint [as the next U. S. Senator from Illinois] whoever is good for the Governor. He won't necessarily appoint who is good for Illinois, who is good for the citizens of our State. Although, they might accidentally coincide, the truth is the Governor will choose whoever the Governor thinks will help the Governor.
*****************************************
Jeff Berkowitz: You know [the caps on the number of Charter Schools] are there from the teachers unions. You know they just put them there—it is an anti-competitive process.
State Rep. Lang: Except I am not here protecting the teachers’ unions.[See, below, for more of the transcript].
**************************************
Go here to watch Carol Marin w/ Judy Woodruff on Obama transition,cabinet, etc. Who is better- Berkowitz or Marin?
****************************
This week’s suburban edition of "Public Affairs," features State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie)discussing and debating with Show Host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz potential replacements for Senator Obama, e.g., Cong. Jackson, Cong. Schakowsky, Cong. Davis and Cong. Gutierrez, and how Rep. Lang thinks Gov. Blagojevich will make that decision, Blagojevich’s performance as Governor, who is likely to be the new Illinois Senate President, education and accountability, eliminating pork, the Illinois piglet book, more gaming and much, much more. See, below, for a more detailed list of topics discussed with Rep. Lang.
See, below, for the Chicago Metro suburban airing schedule of "Public Affairs,"
****************************************************
You can soon watch this week's suburban episode of "Public Affairs," with Rep. Lou Lang here. This show was taped on November 16, 2008.
******************************************************
A partial transcript of this week's suburban edition of "Public Affairs," is included, below;
Public Education: Too much money, too little competition?
Jeff Berkowitz: Education, some people say we’re spending too much, too little reform. What do you say?
State Rep. Lou Lang(D-Skokie): We are not spending too much on education but we should take a look at where we are spending our dollars. We should provide for more accountability.
Jeff Berkowitz: More competition?
State Rep. Lang: I am not for more competition.
More Charter Schools?
Jeff Berkowitz: Charter schools?
State Rep. Lang: No, I am not a big fan of charter schools.
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t like Charter schools? How do you have accountability if you don’t have competition?
State Rep. Lang: Until charter schools are required to hire teachers who have gone to college and have teaching credentials, I will not be for charter schools.
Substantive courses or “how to teach,” courses for teachers?
Jeff Berkowitz: You don’t think someone can come in with a Master’s degree, a Ph. D., know the discipline [Math, Science or English] and teach, [because] they haven’t taken four years of how to teach?
State Rep. Lang: I think the problem here is that we’ve said if you’re a computer expert, you can automatically, without taking any teaching classes, come in and teach kids how to use computers and the answer-- is no you can’t. You might be an expert but not be able to impart the information to the students.
Jeff Berkowitz: Which would you rather have- a person who knows nothing about computers but has a teaching credential or a person who doesn’t have a teaching credential but knows a lot about computers?
State Rep. Lang: But, that’s the whole point—
Jeff Berkowitz: If you had to choose between those two—
State Rep. Lang: But, that’s a false choice.
Jeff Berkowitz: But, you don’t get both.
State Rep. Lang: But, that’s what we need in terms of a revolution in education. We need to seek both and everything else is a false choice. So, I would submit to you that education isn’t as good as it ought to be and we have to make it better.
Too many teaching credentials required?
Jeff Berkowitz: Yeah, in the olden days, it was pretty good. And, we didn’t have teaching credentials and we had people who knew their disciplines. That’s how you learned. That’s how I learned. Those days are over, right?
State Rep. Lang: I think those days are over but--
Jeff Berkowitz: So, now we’ve got to get people who know their disciplines, know history, know English, know math, but they didn’t go thru four years of how to teach.
State Rep. Lang: Why can’t we do both?
Jeff Berkowitz: Because …there are people out there who’ve already got the four years of training in their discipline. They’d like to come in and teach. They could do that. They don’t want to spend four years of doing something else, of going thru a credentialing process that really doesn’t relate to how they teach.
Special credentialing for those who know their disciplines?
State Rep. Lang: So, for those folks we could have special credentialing programs where at least they have some idea about how to communicate with young people.
Jeff Berkowitz: So, you don’t want to lift the caps that the legislature has set limiting the number of charter schools [in the suburbs, City of Chicago and Downstate].
State Rep. Lang: I do not. I am not for that.
Teachers’ unions: Bad or Good for the public?
Jeff Berkowitz: You know [the caps] are there from the teachers unions. You know they just put them there—it is an anti-competitive process.
State Rep. Lang: Except I am not here protecting the teachers’ unions.
Jeff Berkowitz: You’re not? It sounds like it though. I mean, with all due respect, that’s what it sounds like.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
State Rep. Lang: Just because in the end I agree with [the teachers' unions] does not mean that I am for the position that I have because they have asked me to or they have forced me into it.
Jeff Berkowitz: I understand, but you are adamantly opposed to school vouchers and school choice, right?
State Rep. Lang: Absolutely opposed.
Jeff Berkowitz: And, that happens to be the position of the teachers’ unions.
State Rep. Lang: Well, they’re in the right place.
Jeff Berkowitz: You think?
State Rep. Lang: Maybe I forced them into it.
*************************************************
The program with State Rep. Lou Lang was taped on November 16, 2008
****************************************************
State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), going on twenty-two years in the Illinois State House, debates and discusses the issues with show host and executive legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz. Lang has practiced law for more than thirty years. He is the Democratic Floor Leader in the State House.
Rep. Lang represents a good portion of the southern part of Skokie, all of Lincolnwood, part of Morton Grove, most of the 50th Ward of Chicago and part of the 49th. Lang chairs the House Gaming Committee. You can learn more about Rep. Lang here. Rep. Lang said that Gov. Blagojevich and he do not get along because he “goes around the State, telling the truth about [the Governor].”
Topics discussed in this week's program with Rep. Lang include potential replacements for Senator Obama, e.g., Cong. Jackson, Cong. Schakowsky, Cong. Davis and Cong. Gutierrez, and how Rep. Lang thinks Blago will make that decision, including how Blago’s interest in strengthening his base for his 2010 re-election bid might interact with the interests of those who are a part of Team Obama, officially and unofficially.
Further, Rep. Lang answers whether the appointment of a replacement for Obama should have a racial litmus test. Also, how does the Obama replacement process interact with the decision about a potential third term for U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (N.D. IL), and his pending criminal investigations of the Blagojevich and Daley administrations?
Also discussed is Blagojevich’s performance as a Governor, who is likely to be the new Illinois Senate President and the rules for picking a new Senate President. Is there a five billion dollar backlog in the state’s bills? A potential increase in the State income tax? Will the legislature start using zero based budgeting? Should the State legislature consider eliminating the pork, as set out in the Illinois Piglet book prepared by the Illinois Policy Institute? Was the long ago Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL) [1896-1969] right when he said, “a billion dollars here, a billion dollars there and before you know it, you’re talking real money.
Should Illinois issue the State's 10th Casino license to the highest bidder? Should the lottery be leased to the private sector for the next thirty years? Can the lottery be leased long term in light of a recent U. S. Department of Justice issued opinion?
**************************************************
Public Affairs Chicago Metro suburban airing schedule.
The show featuring State Rep. Lou Lang is airing this week in the North and Northwest Chicago Metro suburbs in its regular slot:
Tonight (Tuesday) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette
and Tonight (Tuesday) at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.
and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.
*****************************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show featuring State Rep. Lang will also air throughout the City of Chicago on Monday night, Nov. 24, 2008, at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 (CANTV) and that same night on cable in Aurora and surrounding areas at 7:30 pm on ACTV-10. The Aurora station, Aurora Community Television, Comcast Cable Ch. 10, reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
*************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show featuring State Rep. Lou Lang will also air throughout the City of Rockford (and in surrounding areas) next Thursday night [Thanksgiving], Nov. 24th at 8:00 pm on Cable Ch. 17. The surrounding areas reached by Ch. 17 include Byron, Cedarville, Cherry Valley, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Mount Morris, New Milford, Portions of Ogle County, Oregon, Polo, Stillman Valley, Winnebago, Portions of Boone County and Poplar Grove.
*********************************************************
The "Public Affairs," show featuring Rep. Lou Lang is also likely to air throughout the State of Illinois on the Illinois Channel. Details for that airing schedule are TBA.
**********************************************************
Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. *************************************************************
"Public Affairs," is a weekly political interview show airing in Chicago on CANTV, in the Chicago metro area, Aurora and Rockford on Comcast and also often on the Illinois Channel. You can watch the shows, including archived shows going back to 2005, here.
**************************************************
Recently posted shows on the Public Affairs YouTube page include shows taped with former pol and current pundit and PR guy, Chris Robling,; Chairman and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, John Tillman, Senator Rutherford , former Republican Primary candidate for Governor Ron Gidwitz, Cong. Don Manzullo (R-Egan, 16th CD), State Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), Robert Abboud (D-Barrington Hills, 2008 16th CD Dem. Nominee), two shows featuring clips and interviews, primarily from the Democratic and Republican National Party conventions, go here to watch a 2nd Convention clip show and shows with Cook County Cmsr. and Obama Media Team Member Forrest Claypool and much more.
**********************************************************************
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