There are at least two elected boards in DeKalb County that have so far failed to attract candidates for the Consolidated Election of April 1, 2025. Both are part of the local education infrastructure. Both operate under state rules that restrict how many board members can come from each township in their districts. Some are…
Tag: school board
Series: Prosecution of City Ordinance Violations
Our local schools employ city police as “school resource officers” (SROs) via intergovernmental agreements, and have for years. The objectives are enhanced safety and better relations between law enforcement and the public. What people don’t know is many Illinois schools, including District 428, have turned to SROs to take on disciplinary roles for school infractions…
Children as city revenue sources
Schools in Illinois are not allowed to “ticket” children for misbehavior. So they have the police do it, according to a new series of articles by Pro Publica and Chicago Tribune. A boy named Kameron, who had shoved his friend over a Lipton peach iced tea in the school cafeteria, had been cited for violating…
Letter to the Chronicle
The letter to the editor published April 1 in the Daily Chronicle is here for the moment. What follows is the version I sent to the paper originally. Cohen Barnes is a sharp cookie, a local success story and a civic Energizer Bunny. We need all three. However, my aim with this letter is to…
ReNew Our Schools and Candidate Barnes
Below are listed the officers of ReNew Our Schools, the political action committee (PAC) set up to campaign for the $110 million District 428 construction referendum that passed in early 2008. One of the co-chairs of the PAC, Cohen Barnes, is currently running for a spot on the District 428 school board. In the comments…