CPS Principal Pay-for-Performance Plan Opens the Door for Community Schools

Merit pay is a notoriously tricky business. Reward short-term returns and you hang the future out to dry. Or, as we've seen in a growing number of school districts across the country, you run the risk of teachers and administrators taking shortcuts (ie, cheating) to grab the brass ring. Mayor Emman...
August 22, 2011

Links of Interest

What We Read, August 12-19, 2011   Criminal Justice Court Reform: Even conservative states are adopting lighter sentencing policies in response to unsustainable prison costs, reports the New York Times.  Matthew Iglesias questions the social, political, and economic rationale behind incr...
August 19, 2011

More incarceration does not equal less crime.

The ACLU posted a fascinating infographic this week. The above graphic compares the change incarceration rates and the change in crime rates from 1999 to 2009. Illinois' prison population has skyrocketed since 1970, but has not grown considerably in the past decade, as illustrated by this chart pr...
August 18, 2011

Judicial Independence, Impartiality and the Ethics of Recusal

National Public Radio ran a long piece on judicial ethics and recusal on Morning Edition this morning. The piece discussed instances in the past few years where Justices’ spouses, personal lives, or private speaking engagements caused criticism, particularly where Justices did not recuse themselves...
August 17, 2011

Recusal Standards for Judges

Finding ways to ensure the competence and integrity of the judicial system is a research and advocacy priority at Chicago Appleseed. We consider ways to advocate for improvement through our court-watching projects, the research and support we give to the Judicial Performance Commission, and in our r...
August 5, 2011