At the annual Representative Assembly of the Illinois Education Association (IEA) in March, the delegates voted to fund our organizing efforts at UIUC.
Representatives of the Association of Academic Professionals were invited as guests to observe the spectacle of large-scale democracy in action as the 1000 delegates to the assembly engaged in debate on various issues and voted on new officers, policy decisions, the budget, and new programs for the IEA. Each local elects one delegate per 100 members, and these delegates get feedback from the local's members on the items to be voted on. Our local, with 2500 prospective members, would be the largest in the state and would be able to send 25 delegates.
Hazel Loucks, who was recently appointed deputy governor for education by Governor George Ryan, spoke before the assembly. Hazel was the IEA's higher education coordinator and had worked closely with our group at UIUC. Some of you might have spoken with her at the brown bag luncheons sponsored by the Association of Academic Professionals last year. Hazel will be an advocate in Springfield for higher education and unions. We are expecting great things from her.