Bob Tallitsch seeks seat on Moline School Board  --  Quality of education & future of Moline children at heart of run.

(Moline, IL) Former Moline School Board President Bob Tallitsch feels so strongly about the future challenges and opportunities facing the Moline Public School District that he is throwing his hat in the ring for a seat on the school board - a seat he's held before.

"The challenges and opportunities are too great to stay away from this arena of public service," said Tallitsch, a biology professor at Augustana College.  Tallitsch said his past experience on the board was "both the most rewarding and the most frustrating experience of his life."

"I am running because I feel I can make a positive difference in the quality of education and because we can't waste the talent of any child in Moline," said Tallitsch, who has more than a decade of prior service on the Moline School Board including five years as president.

Tallitsch said the major priorities of his candidacy represent what has motivated him to run again.  "Taken together, these priorities represent the foundation of my candidacy.  They represent my desire to improve the educational policies in this district.  They represent my core commitment to putting children first in this district.  That is why I'm running," he said.

"The basis of my candidacy rests on the notion that we have to run a smarter school board, a board that puts children first, in both tough economic times and at all times," he said.  "As a fiscal conservative I think every decision and expenditure of tax dollars should be guided by this principle:  are we spending wisely and are we strengthening the curriculum needed to provide every child a high-quality education?"

Tallitsch said the Moline School Board needs to be more curriculum-minded.  "As the school board navigates tough budget decisions ahead, I will be a voice that puts the impact on curriculum first and foremost," he said.

Tallitsch said the school board needs to be more proactive.  "Now is the time to be proactive," he said.  "With difficult budget conditions and with tough curriculum choices, we face challenging days ahead.  These challenging times call for board members ready to ask the tough questions at board meetings, ready to review the budget line by line, and ready to make trips to Springfield to lobby our legislators to live up to the Illinois Constitution's commitment to funding schools adequately.  We all have to step it up.  We have to do better."

Tallitsch also feels the Moline Board of Education needs to be more responsive to the people within the district.  A great first step, he said, would be updating the policy that governs questions-and-answers when members of the public come before the school board to make comment.  "At the present time, when the public comes to a school board meeting to speak there is no time for questions and no time for a give and take with that person.  While this policy might have been appropriate in the past, we need to change the policy governing the 'public comment' section of Board of Education meetings so that some discussion and debate is allowed," said Tallitsch.  He would also like to see the school district do more on media outlets such as Facebook

The school board candidate also recommends the following belt-tightening measures to save tax dollars:  1) the school district should move toward 100 percent paperless meetings throughout the district; 2) any board member or employee of the district in his/her last year on the board or employment within the district should forego attending conferences that require the school district to reimburse registration, travel and lodging expenses; 3) the new school board should continue conducting a "top-to-bottom review of every line item in the budget" to look for new ways to cut wasteful spending; and 4) the administration should seek out budget-saving suggestions from the employees of the district - teachers and staff - just as is done in industry today.

Tallitsch, who plans to issue specific policy proposals during the course of this campaign, has a strong record of community service that includes the following:

*  Moline Board of Education, 1991-1999, 2001-2005
*  President, Moline Board of Education, 1997-1999, 2001-2005
*  Chair, District Bond Referendum Committee, 1992
*  District Teacher Negotiations Team, 1991-1998
*  District MESPA Negotiations Team, 2001-2005
*  Board of Directors, Moline Junior Symphony, 1993-1996

He earned a B.A. in biology from North Central College, and a P.h. D. in physiology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, before joining the faculty at Augustana College.
He has published several articles and textbooks during his tenure at Augustana College and was recently selected to serve as Principal Investigator on a grant awarded through the National Science Foundation.

Tallitsch and his wife, Mary, are the proud parents of Steven, 27, and Molly, 25, both graduates of Moline Senior High School.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the following statement today after the Senate failed to pass the DREAM Act by a vote of 55-41.  Harkin is a co-sponsor of the bill. 

"I am appalled that partisan politics and the archaic filibuster stood in the way of passing the DREAM Act today.  My mother came to the United States as an immigrant and because of the opportunities in this country, I was able to fulfill the American dream.  It is a shame that we cannot extend the same opportunities to others who are willing to contribute to our country and abide by the rules.

"What's frustrating is that the DREAM Act was originally a bipartisan bill that was introduced by a Republican.  In 2003, it had the support of 15 Republican cosponsors.  Unfortunately today the minority has put partisan politics ahead of common sense legislation.

"Contrary to false rumors, this is not an amnesty bill.  Rather, it would have enabled children who are in America as a result of their parents' actions to contribute by attending college or enlisting in the military after completing high school.  These students would not have received immediate citizenship.  They would have to have arrived in the U.S. by the age of 15, displayed good moral character, passed criminal and security clearances, and lived in the United States for at least five years.

"Why would we want to turn away a college educated person who wants to add to our economy and tax base, or a person willing to fight for this county?  We wouldn't - and that is why failure to pass this bill is such bad news for these students and our nation's future."

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Washington, D.C -  Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today introduced a resolution in the Senate honoring baseball great Bob Feller who passed away on Wednesday.  Feller, a Van Meter native, was known as a great Iowan, a great baseball player and a great patriot.   The resolution was cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), George Voinovich (R-OH) and Jim Bunning (R-KY).

"This week we lost a great American," said Harkin. "Bob Feller was one of the greatest baseball players in history, but also a decorated soldier who willingly interrupted that career to enlist in the military to serve in World War II.   We do not just honor him because of his athletic achievements, we recognize him as a great American and patriot."

"Bob Feller knew the honor and duty of being an American, and he took that responsibility very seriously.  When his country needed him, he was the first to leave his professional baseball career and answer the call.  And, though most will remember him for his curveball, Bob Feller most wanted to be recognized for his service in World War II defending the United States from totalitarian powers and promoting liberty and freedom around the world," Grassley said.  

Feller started his baseball career as pitcher for Van Meter High School.  He went on to play 16 seasons in the major leagues, during which he had 2,581 strikeouts and 266 wins.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.  Feller also served our Nation in the Navy during World War II, enlisting two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor.   Due to his service, he lost four baseball seasons, but has said he never regretted his choice.

A copy of the resolution can be found here.

Friday, December 17, 2010

President Obama today signed into law an extension of tax relief.  The bipartisan package extends a series of provisions Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa sponsored and shepherded into law as chairman of the Finance Committee in 2001 and 2003 and as a leading supporter of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.  The Finance Committee has exclusive Senate jurisdiction over taxes.  Grassley made the following comment on the President's signing of the bill into law.

"This will be good for taxpayers and the economy.  Raising taxes would have been the worst thing we could do with unemployment at nearly 10 percent. Continued tax relief gives people the ability to keep more of their money to use as they see fit, whether it's buying groceries or investing in their small business.  Sending more money to Washington would just result in more spending, which is the last thing the country needs.  The restoration of the biodiesel tax credit and continuation of the ethanol tax credit, along with 49 other tax incentives for different sectors of the economy, are part and parcel of job retention and creation.  Biodiesel has lost nearly 23,000 jobs because the credit lapsed.  Ethanol has 112,000 jobs at stake.  These industries offer the most effective alternative to expensive foreign oil from unfriendly countries."

The Grassley-sponsored tax-relief bill enacted in 2001 was the biggest in a generation.  It lowered marginal rates and created the 10-percent bracket.  It made tax-free savings plans for college a permanent part of the tax code, created the deduction for tuition, and secured the tax deductibility of interest on student loans.  If this tax relief wasn't extended in 2010, on average, Americans' tax bills would have gone up by 10 percent.  Without action:

--the tax deduction for college tuition would have gone away

--the expanded part of the tax deduction for interest on student loans would have gone away

--the 10-percent tax bracket for low-income workers would have ended

--six million very low-income taxpayers removed from the tax rolls altogether in 2001 would have been taxed again

--the tax-free treatment of employer-provided educational assistance would have gone away.  Across America, one million workers who go to school at night or part-time benefit from this tax relief.

--the tax benefit for certain bonds to improve and build schools would have gone away

--the tax-preferred expanded part of education savings accounts would have gone away

--there would have been a higher tax penalty for marriage

--the child tax credit would have been cut in half (from $1,000 to $500)

--the refundable child tax credit for many people who don't pay taxes would have gone away

--savers, investors and seniors would have paid higher taxes on dividends and capital gains

--the estate tax would have come back in full (to a 55 percent tax rate and $1 million unified credit exemption amount).

For more information on the biodiesel and ethanol tax credits enacted today, click here.