Teachers Takeover City Hall: Chicago 1933

News Item: Midwestern teachers staged a massive protest, taking control of a central government building and demanding financial guarantees from the government.

This was not Madison, Wisconsin 2011, but rather, Chicago, Illinois 1933.

On April 27 of that year, Chicago Teachers staged a massive demonstration march which clogged streets in the Loop and culminated in a sit-in takeover of the Chicago City Hall and several downtown bank lobbies.

But unlike the Madison teachers today who are among the economic elite with salaries well above the median incomes in their districts and gilded health care and pension plans, the Chicago teachers hadn't been paid at all for nearly a year.


According to the left-wing NATION the situation was so bleak that teachers were taking loans from Chicago loan sharks just to buy groceries and one even committed suicide.

The Chicago Mayor of the era, Anton Cermak, had just been mistakenly assassinated in Florida while down there to confer with President-elect Roosevelt and beg for federal funds to pay Chicago's teachers.

According to Chicago native and Newsweek senior editor, Jonathan Alter in his sympathetic 2006 treatment of FDR's first 100 days, The Defining Moment,p.275, Roosevelt had no sympathy for the protestors.

"The past decade has seen a very large increase in teachers' salaries, and even if all the teachers were cut 15% like government employees, they will still be getting relatively more than a decade ago," Roosevelt said.


According to Alter (p.276), "Roosevelt was convinced he must keep his campaign promise and balance the budget... For the first time in memory, the country had a president who took on all the lobbyists and pressure groups angling for their slice of the pie and beat them decisively."

Sounds an awful lot like the stand being taken today by Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker.

And the unionized Wisconsin teachers, awash in cash and worker benefits that most of the American workforce can only dream of, look like petty money-grubbers when compared to the genuinely hard-hit Chicago teachers of 1933.

Corralling the 50th Ward Ethno-Jewish Vote

At the 11th hour in last week's Chicago aldermanic election, the following letter appeared in the mailboxes of selected households in the far-North 50th ward:

Dear (name of voter):

The 50th Ward is a special place. We are blessed with beautiful Synagogues, Yeshivas, Kollels, Jewish institutions, Mikvas and Eruvin. Businesses that cater to our dietary laws and enhance our spiritual needs are plentiful. Our children go to wonderful schools and our families thrive in the friendliest and largest Jewish community in the Nidwest. Life in West Rogers Park and Peterson Park is truly a blessing and it took years of hard work and dedication to build such a wonderful environment.

For over 35 years, Alderman Berny Stone has been our community's best friend. His endless efforts helped create the wonderful community that we all take for granted. The West Rogers Park & Peterson Park Eruv, Joan Dachs Bais Yaakov Elementary School, Hannah Sachs Girls High School and numerous Shuls like Sha'arei Tzedek and Khal Chasidim, are just a small glimpse into what his hard work and dedication has brought our community.

Today, we want to acknowledge Alderman Stone's dedication to our community. He has been our voice in City Hall, our advocate in the world of politics and our greatest ally when our community needed an emissary for our spiritual well-being. Alderman Stone has stood by us and continues to every single day.

Today we recognize Alderman Bernard L. Stone as a friend to our community and to our values. Thank you, for your years of support and dedication! We look forward to continuing and strengthening this invaluable friendship for years to come.

Rabbi Moshe Katz
Rabbi Efraim Terski
Rabbi Michael Small

When I wrote a piece on this blog last year on February 7th, pointing out that the embarassing pawn broker,Scott Lee Cohen, garnered his strongest electoral support in heavily Jewish areas, due to knee jerk Jewish ethnocentric behavior, I was deluged with responses denying the fact that Jews vote as a solid bloc.


When I pointed out that Jewish voters are as reliably and predictably Democrat in their voting behavior (87% according to CNN) as Puerto Ricans and blacks, I was pilloried for voicing such inconvenient facts.

But apparently, Alderman Bernard Stone and his high-powered campaign consultants at Grainger-Terry (who also managed pawnbroker Cohen's campaign) agree with me.

They fashioned the above letter and sent it out.

And with the characteristic Stone-Grainger/Terry ineptitude, it arrived in the Golden Ghetto area mailbox of this writer, a decidedly non-Jewish, lapsed Roman Catholic with a German name to which some Yiddish names may have a similarity.

And with further crack campaign efficiency, it arrived --- the day after the election.

Kate Middleton's Chicago Days

Some time back I posted a piece on this blog about Queen Elizabeth's 1957 visit to Chicago. Since then, hardly a day goes by when some Anglophile from somewhere in the world doesn't end up on my blog after searching for "Queen Elizabeth & Chicago."

So it occured to me that with the enormous internet popularity of Kate Middleton, the very hot British babe who is going to marry the dorky eldest issue of the stormy relationship between Prince Charles and the late Lady Di, I'd better write something on her to cash in on her wild blogospheric popularity. Also it would give me an excuse for posting photos of her.


This being a blog with a Chicago theme, I thought it best to devote this post to a description and discussion of Kate Middleton's long and storied personal relationship with the city of Chicago.


I thought it would be useful to report on her many trips here and especially the time she spent (incognito) lolling on the Oak Street beach and (again incognito)sitting in the bleachers in Wrigley Field in order to chill out after a long afternoon of shopping (incognito) with her hot British girlfriends on the Magnificent Mile.

But alas, exhaustive research has revealed that the elegantly hot and seemingly air-headed future English Queen, unlike her future grandmother-in-law, Elizabeth, has never so much as set foot in Chicago.


So reluctantly, I must concede that I have no legitimate excuse for posting all kinds of photos of Kate Middleton on this Chicago oriented blog.

Niles West H.S. and Niles North H.S. Fatcat Teachers Salaries

Niles West Has The Highest Paid
Gym Teacher In the State of Illinois

Posted below are all the salaries of the teachers at Niles West High School and Niles North High School.

(Editor's note: When this article was first released only the 2010 salaries were available to the public. 

The list was updated in 2012 to reflect the latest available 2011 salaries and now on 9/9/13 has been updated once again to reflect the available data on their 2012 salaries.).


The Family Taxpayers Network has just released the latest available 2012 salaries for these and all public school teachers throughout Illinois.

Niles Township CHSD 219 spends more lavishly on its teachers and administrators salaries than any high school district in the entire state, save for that of posh, stately Lake Forest. A full 208 of them pull down more than $100 grand a year for their part-time 9 month gigs.

On top of that, these big-union money grubbers get gold-plated health care coverage and platinum pension plans that will give them up to 85% of their salaries for the rest of their lives.

This puts these unionized government workers, who have learned to game the system, among the economic elite of America.


At the same time, senior citizen homeowners in Skokie, Lincolnwood and Morton Grove stand to lose their homes if they can't afford to pay the taxes to support these greedy fatcat teachers.


No wonder a nationwide revolt is spreading against the privileged status of these dissembling clowns.

Take a look at their salaries. Their names are listed in alphabetical order and you can find more detailed information on the government employee by clicking on the name.

Niles Twp CHSD 219 2012 - Download data
NAME	SALARY
Ackman, Scott	$137,189
Ahearn, Caroline	$50,669
Ahmad, Tayyaba	$63,070
Akwa, Stefanie	$104,259
Albert, Kenneth	$122,003
Alegnani, Ann	$125,845
Allen, Mark	$131,231
Almaraz, Jennifer	$92,540
Amaro, John	$106,675
Amelianovich, Ashley	$80,639
Anbarchian, Gevik	$105,484
Apfel, Stacey	$108,672
Armour, Mindy	$105,960
Arteaga, Alejandra	$88,553
Asaro, Joseph	$143,792
Attig, Jean	$110,133
Baehr, Sherry	$87,792
Ballard, Guy	$217,799
Barker, Kimberly	$87,234
Barnett, Christopher	$116,074
Barney, Sarah	$95,069
Bartl, Natalie	$78,096
Barton, Robb	$85,104
Bassrawi, Margaret	$129,649
Batista, Adrian	$79,635
Baum, Scott	$110,723
Beaver, Steven	$138,472
Beeftink, Christine	$133,515
Beeftink, Michael	$121,713
Behling, James	$71,067
Belkind, Edith	$0
Belleau, Michael	$101,408
Bellwoar, Paul	$86,403
Benitez, Pamela	$117,603
Bennett, Nicholas	$53,634
Bennett, Troy	$106,120
Bills, Happi	$105,104
Bluestein, Juliet	$113,995
Bohigian, Suzanne	$103,413
Boll, Michael	$85,635
Bordenet, Patricia	$82,765
Bougdanos, Erika	$101,371
Bower, Margaret	$67,737
Bradburn, Anthony	$113,000
Braheny, Kyle	$63,375
Bramley, Scott	$94,826
Branahl, Amy	$107,092
Brandes, Kathleen	$111,654
Bravos, George	$131,085
Brechling, Vanessa	$98,863
Briski, Hyun	$91,870
Brown, Henry	$104,325
Brown, Tricia	$62,416
Brzezinski, Benjamin	$92,515
Buttitta, Kathleen	$69,204
Caceres, Felix	$90,882
Camel, Christine	$104,275
Capuzelo, Linda	$109,216
Carrow, Nicole	$40,970
Casey, Daniel	$79,994
Chan, Albert	$95,367
Chandarana, Seema	$81,066
Cheng, Joy	$130,641
Cheng, Sanlida	$113,226
Choldin, Kate	$124,770
Chu, Gary	$55,970
Chung, Tom	$117,853
Chwal, Lisa	$104,334
Clarke, Karen	$123,998
Clish, Brett	$121,192
Condon, Angela	$139,569
Connelly, John	$133,236
Conner Davis, Kim	$75,229
Connolly, Bridget	$141,280
Conroy, Michael	$111,910
Corrigan, Chuck	$113,170
Costello, Karl	$185,070
Costigan, Patricia	$125,646
Coughlin, Kathleen	$122,769
Cross, Jennifer	$67,222
Czupryna, Britt	$48,333
Dahlberg, Scott	$127,831
Daley, Kerry	$76,441
Davis, Andrea	$85,864
Davis, Patti-Anne	$79,349
DeCoster, Richard	$120,435
Delahanty, Sean	$122,343
DeNapoli, Lisa	$72,499
Des Jardins, Dana	$124,537
Di Sanza, Kathleen	$87,322
Di Vito, Brandy	$106,357
Di Zillo, Joseph	$56,694
Doan-Hanson, Courtney	$85,067
Dobinsky, Susan	$122,989
Donnelly, Margaret	$126,790
Doonan, Kirby	$98,761
Dornseif, Ronald	$98,066
Dunham, Lisa	$123,677
Edwards, Joseph	$97,752
Egofske, Mark	$151,361
Eichler, Heidi	$37,803
Eisele, Elton	$143,632
Ellis, Nikki	$78,575
Erickson, Christine	$93,160
Erickson, Ingrid	$93,117
Fahrenbacher, Matthew	$104,049
Faso, Mario	$116,477
Felton, Marlon	$111,727
Fishbune, Sarah	$86,114
Fitzgerald, Heather	$102,628
FitzHenry, Carol	$135,035
Foerch, Pamela	$131,061
Foerch, Steven	$139,111
Fogel, Lawrence	$121,608
Foley, Ellen	$71,289
Fosco, Susan	$127,635
Foster, Jason	$110,517
Frampton, John	$124,015
France, Katherine	$145,311
Fretzin, Lisa	$112,899
Frontzak, Pamela	$132,666
Garner, Brent	$114,727
Gatta Perez, Nanciann	$273,029
Genis, David	$123,154
Genovesi, Anthony	$102,675
Geu, Ryan	$112,968
Gibson, Stacey	$102,533
Gillies, Katherine	$87,172
Gin, Daniel	$117,924
Gjerpen, Katie	$69,389
Glaubke, Margaret	$66,696
Gleicher, Ruth	$124,019
Goethals, Ann	$123,432
Gogerty, Colleen	$60,875
Gold, Sandra	$107,124
Goldman, Shoshana	$118,056
Gomez, Elizabeth	$132,044
Goodfriend, Carole	$59,446
Graham, Michael	$124,572
Graham, Sally	$64,285
Grais, Benjamin	$111,055
Gray, Nathan	$104,057
Greene, Brian	$94,934
Greenspan, Bradley	$124,924
Gregerman, Daniel	$142,583
Griffin, Kendall	$132,450
Gross, Rachel	$86,013
Grossman, Steven	$127,334
Grunst, Marie	$122,382
Guercio, Mary Ellen	$120,946
Gustafson, Garry	$146,637
Haberl, James	$78,543
Hahne, Jennifer	$82,699
Hall, Laureen	$123,093
Hamilton, Anna	$79,212
Hankes, Angela	$102,334
Hare, Michael	$76,842
Harris, Barbara	$135,660
Hawker, Christopher	$81,864
Heintz, John	$200,231
Heintzelman, Carmela	$62,228
Helms, Tina	$56,716
Hendrix, Pamela	$155,384
Hentz, Stephanie	$89,303
Herlocker, Carol	$148,259
Heselton, Anne	$117,736
Hettinger, Michele	$114,765
Heuerman, Steven	$0
Hindel, Lisa	$121,652
Hoff, Barbara	$43,686
Holman, Betsy	$112,901
Horyn, Daniel	$114,032
Houston, Brenda	$143,587
Howes, Elizabeth	$118,707
Hsing, Wileen	$105,322
Iafrate, Stephanie	$85,780
Ingraham, Heather	$127,013
Jackson, Anthony	$112,077
Jackson, Kristen	$96,327
Jacobson, Laura	$116,854
Jaffe-Notier, Tamara	$126,977
Jarad, Amina	$49,065
Jazrawi, Bashar	$103,542
Jeter, Andrew	$93,289
Jodelka, Thomas	$88,549
Johaniewicz, Harriet	$106,120
Johnson, Andrew	$132,170
Joshi, Ankur	$97,068
Jukic, Jasminka	$77,960
Kaiser, Erick	$130,510
Kajmowicz, Kathie	$63,458
Kannokada, Manoj	$85,236
Kantor, Dana	$97,317
Kanwischer, Dana	$112,431
Karimighovanloo, Luisa	$105,812
Katz, Steven	$126,811
Kaye, Amy	$98,451
Keating, Sandra	$133,776
Kelley, Kevin	$142,469
Kelsey, Janet	$130,958
Kennedy, Shaun	$104,743
Kessler, Joel	$109,763
Klamm, Andrew	$90,422
Klayman, Marcy	$122,521
Klenetsky, Jody	$85,160
Kline, Michelle	$117,693
Klingenberger, David	$121,608
Koch, Amy	$83,638
Koch, William	$161,144
Kolany, Elizabeth	$107,566
Kolze, Richard	$123,606
Komo, Natalie	$81,812
Koning, Amy	$91,562
Konsewicz, Anthony	$117,156
Koreman, Neil	$123,094
Kosiba, Daniel	$66,061
Kracht, Hope	$131,443
Kretsos, John	$123,661
Krzeminski, James	$114,531
Kucab, Roman	$118,375
Kyriazes, Harry	$122,188
La Pointe, Demian	$117,892
Lander, Steven	$77,822
Landini, Kimberly	$80,419
Langston, Teri	$121,739
Lau, Stephanie	$126,588
Lauer, Evelyn	$97,526
Le Fevre, Ami	$128,464
Lear, Julie	$116,523
Lee, Yoon	$99,025
Levitan, Marla	$149,852
Lewis, Michele	$85,699
Lichterman, Dena	$55,077
Lietz, Martha	$124,448
Lim, Susie	$71,530
Lindberg, Ryan	$60,216
Lipka, Jacalyn	$86,703
Litberg, Lisa	$111,199
Loughran, Vachee	$114,389
Lubarsky, Christine	$96,965
Lueder, Eric	$123,572
Lupi, Guillermo	$121,652
Macejak, Jason	$109,882
Magnuson, Blake	$118,696
Makris, Georgia	$80,566
Malatesta, David	$107,087
Marcelo, Elpidio	$211,593
Martin, Janice	$141,394
Martin, Shawn	$111,625
Mccormack, Laura	$56,344
McKenna, Lisa	$109,256
McTague, John	$191,225
Medland, Mark	$144,881
Metallo, Louis	$131,041
Metoyer, Stacy	$99,452
Metzler, John	$77,164
Meyer, Debora	$137,016
Meyer, R. Joseph	$122,415
Meyer, Richard	$120,708
Milanesio, Gina	$73,092
Milano, Lee	$131,198
Miller, Timothy	$107,061
Miller, Yvonne	$149,683
Mills, Jennifer	$99,406
Minkus, Aaron	$82,222
Moore, Linda	$154,890
Moscovitch, Natalie	$118,132
Mosier, Amber	$85,057
Murphy, Edmund	$147,908
Musleh, Conrad	$119,027
Nagelvoort, Mary	$114,923
Nash, Susan	$144,664
Natzke, Leslie	$114,389
Naughton, Jacklyn	$136,618
Ness, Jason	$147,607
Neumayer, Josef	$104,369
Newman, Daniel	$88,543
Nocella, Michael	$52,904
Norris, Arnold	$108,715
Nortillo, Robert	$114,663
Nowak, Earl	$114,864
O'Malley, Paul	$175,172
Oddo, Eric	$91,107
Ogulnik, Jessica	$100,729
Olson, Glenn	$100,382
Ordonez, Jean	$123,848
Orloske, Tanya	$28,262
Ortmann, Timothy	$163,349
Osburn, Kaine	$194,690
Otter, Nancy	$99,063
Pace, Mark	$121,608
Pape, Jennifer	$85,665
Patel, Poonam	$54,945
Patel, Tapan	$62,210
Pauley, Tina	$70,647
Paxson, Daniel	$109,851
Penney, Autumn	$43,180
Persaud, Stephanie	$38,664
Peterson, Nils	$93,282
Petrakis, Larissa	$118,572
Philbin, Cynthia	$157,668
Pieczynski, Edward	$97,119
Pistorius, William	$115,893
Pommerenke-Schneider, Kristin	$89,090
Posnock, Susie	$122,010
Powell, Christopher	$131,283
Powell, Kerry	$39,031
Powell, Page	$87,311
Pratt, Charles	$125,468
Protus-Edelstein, Cynthia	$91,206
Przekota, John	$62,003
Puglisi, Daniel	$63,175
Putnam, Todd	$120,287
Qian, Yan	$72,941
Quinlan, Daniel	$96,089
Raffanti, Evelyn	$140,754
Ramseyer, Elizabeth	$125,968
Ramseyer, Stephen	$111,878
Ranft, Susan	$125,679
Rapp, Mary	$141,235
Rauser, Lynne	$99,612
Real-Griyech, Lori	$129,008
Reed, Scott	$112,124
Remaly, Melinda	$139,758
Reynolds, Nicole	$111,587
Richards, Mary	$88,105
Richmond, Timothy	$123,127
Rigby, Mark	$105,610
Rios-Murphy, Ana	$117,440
Robinson, Keith	$146,225
Rocco, John	$106,963
Roche, Andrew	$110,231
Rogers, Megan	$93,861
Roloff, Anne	$179,142
Ronning, Lydia	$97,728
Ross, Beth	$0
Rusk, Daniel	$129,757
Ruth, David	$119,600
Sacks, Joyce	$123,483
Sakas, James	$122,415
Sanchez, Carolyn	$109,282
Sang, Melissa	$100,269
Schlack, Michelle	$127,459
Schmitt, Jason	$108,542
Schnabel, Mary Jo	$109,764
Schram, Susan	$106,559
Schwarz, Christopher	$133,361
Scott, Renee	$113,945
Serafini, Anthony	$104,148
Serpico, Joseph	$121,608
Shafran, Olga	$33,812
Shah, Hetal	$68,044
Shaoul, David	$119,987
Shapiro, Laura	$128,552
Sharma, Pankaj	$90,286
Shattock, Carrie	$98,441
Shay, Elizabeth	$75,889
Shiner, Jordan	$106,120
Shulman, Elizabeth	$98,659
Shuster, Sara	$75,031
Silverberg, Ivan	$85,880
Sinclair, Andrew	$111,954
Sinnick, Jenifer	$123,142
Sipiera, Jennifer	$106,799
Skelton, Molly	$91,882
Slife, Cameron	$119,996
Smith, Celeste	$209,957
Smith, Jessica	$71,289
Smith, Samuel	$123,754
Snow, Tricia	$87,112
Sokolowski, Matthew	$105,990
Song, Esther	$73,387
Sortino, Deanna	$96,746
Sosa, Lia	$89,187
Splinter, Heidi	$119,295
Stallone, Tiffany	$88,526
Steeno, Patrick	$126,431
Stephenson, Joseph	$99,853
Stern, Mitchell	$146,591
Sterpin, Jennifer	$118,001
Stewart, Margaret	$79,387
Sticha, Frank	$122,415
Stone, Lisa	$96,627
Stopek, Marilyn	$141,557
Stucky, Sarah	$82,194
Stump, Lauren	$79,576
Suarez, Andrew	$81,701
Sullivan, William	$108,727
Swanson, Paul	$151,396
Swanson, Sharon	$123,088
Swedberg, Andrew	$145,686
Swiatkiewicz, Michael	$83,802
Swider, Howard	$117,406
Tackes, Jeffrey	$58,477
Thielsen, Richard	$67,159
Tichy, Anton	$111,785
Toledo, Eduardo	$117,951
Topham, Matthew	$92,834
Torres, Paul	$103,341
Trachsel, Karen	$114,864
Trapani, Jody	$68,239
Trerotola, Mark	$59,863
Trzaskus, Susan	$104,572
Tuecke, Rebecca	$138,794
Tulley, Hillary	$121,420
Tzortzis, Angela	$55,183
Ude, Barbara	$126,462
Van Alstin, Joyce	$103,009
Van Roeyen, Nevin	$117,639
Vana, John	$68,932
Vander Jeugdt, Daniel	$143,752
Vander Jeugdt, Terri	$116,246
Villa, JulieAnn	$97,852
Vivone, Chris	$125,054
Wack, Paul	$118,170
Waldron, Shaun	$119,449
Walvoord, Eileen	$136,040
Wartowski, David	$120,596
Watanabe, Michael	$138,147
Weatherington, Jody	$65,242
Weatherington, Matthew	$115,532
Weiberg, Bonnie	$125,659
Weitzel, Monica	$53,327
Whitefield, Denise	$117,903
Whitefield, Elliot	$111,271
Wick, Karin	$140,261
Wiemer, Matthew	$94,528
Williams, Robert	$154,915
Wilson, Bradford	$133,878
Wismer, Barbara	$96,548
Wisniewski, Lois	$138,430
Wittersheim, Bryan	$108,891
Wright, Laura	$101,873
Wulfram, Frederick	$91,911
Zavell, Anne	$93,167
Zbinden, Beverly	$112,348
Zera, Thomas	$124,915
Zilewicz, John	$118,925
Zussman, Eva	$73,304
Zwikel, Amy	$80,328

That is the complete report of 2012 salaries of teachers at Niles West High School and Niles North High School, which enroll students from Skokie, Lincolnwood and Morton Grove, Illinois. The data was gleaned from the Family Taxpayer Foundation teachers' salaries database.