Should School Art Programs Be Funded By Property Tax?

District 34 school board candidate Glenn Farkas suggests schools find a way to fund art and music programs without property taxes.

District 34 school board candidate, Glenn Farkas, recently told the Journal & Topics that schools should consider funding art and music programs without property taxes, though it might take "thinking outside the box" to find the best solution.  According to Farkas, property taxes could still be used to fund core subjects such as history, English, math and science, but “everything else is ancillary,” the Journal & Topics reports. Sign up for the Glenview Patch morning newsletter to get the latest local election updates in your email. Farkas is running as a write-in candidate in April's village elections after his ballot petition was rejected because of a missing paperclip, Patch previously reported.

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Was Farkas' School Board Candidacy Unfairly Rejected?

Glenn Farkas' application for the District 34 school board election was rejected because of a missing paper clip.

Glen Farkas, 44, a 10-year resident of Glenview, recently petitioned to appear on Glenview's April election ballot as a District 34 school board candidate, but a missing paper clip in his application was enough for the school district election board to reject his petition, the Chicago Tribune reported in January.  The April ballot will include the current school board president Chris Northwick, along with incumbent board members John "Jack" Murphy and Cathe Russe, according to the Tribune's January story.  “This is pretty sad and disturbing that I was taken off the ballot," Farkas told the Glenview Announcements regarding the rejected application. "I’m active in the community and I have two children in District 34." But a recent email …

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Glenview Resident’s Petition for District 34 Ruled Invalid

The Electoral Board for Glenview Public School District 34 removed Glenn Farkas from running for school trustee in April.

  Glenview Public School District 34 recently voted to remove Glenview resident Glenn Farkas, 44, from running for school trustee in April citing Farkas’ petition documents were not fastened together under state law, Glenview Announcements reported.  Farkas told Chicago Tribune that he plans to run as a write-in candidate and contends that his 11-page petition was secured with a paper clip when he submitted it.  This is not the first time the 10-year Glenview resident has run for public office. In the fall of 2012, Farkas ran against Democrat Daniel Biss for a seat in the 9th State Senate District. He lost. 

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Biss Wins 9th State Senate District Race

Evanston resident Daniel Biss won against Glenn Farkas.

Updated 10:40 p.m. With only three precincts left to report votes, Glenn Farkas has confirmed he conceded the race to Daniel Biss. “I can’t say that it’s unexpected,” Farkas said in a phone interview. “We came in late, we knew it had been won by Schoenberg in the past.”  During a telephone interview, Biss said he was humble and proud that his campaign has been successful.  The Democratic candidate says as the new state senator he will be working hard on fiscal stabilization.  “We need to find ways to leverage our economic strength and help accelerate our economy as fast as possible.” Updated 9:35 p.m. With only nine precincts yet to report votes, Biss has a comfortable lead with 66 percent or 61,100 of the votes.  Updated 8:23 p.m. With …

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Legislative Hopefuls Talk Jobs, Taxes, Corruption at Evanston Forum

17th District Illinois House candidates Laura Fine and Kyle Frank, 18th District Illinois House candidates Robyn Gabel and Eric Lieberman, and 9th District Illinois Senate candidate Glenn Farkas spoke in Evanston.

At a forum in Evanston last night, Illinois legislative candidates sparred over how to create jobs and reduce corruption, but agreed on one thing: that the state needs a massive budget overhaul.  Hosted by the Central Street Neighbors Association at Haven Middle School, the forum included State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) and her 18th District Republican challenger, Eric Lieberman, as well as 17th district house candidates Laura Fine (D-Glenview) and Kyle Frank (R-Skokie.) Ninth district Illinois senate candidate Glenn Farkas (R-Glenview), was also in attendance, but his opponent, State Rep. Daniel Biss, had a previously scheduled appearance. Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl took his seat, answering questions on behalf of Biss from …

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Senate District 9 Candidates on the Economy, Medicaid

Find out where candidates Daniel Biss and Glenn Farkas stand on different issues.

Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) and Glenview resident Glenn Farkas recently shared their views at a debate held at Glenbrook South High School.  See where the candidates stand on the Education and the Pension System. The candidates' answers have been lightly edited.  The unemployment rate in Illinois is almost 1 percent higher than the national average. At the same time, both Indiana and Wisconsin are doing better than Illinois when it comes to jobs. What do you believe we need to do to create more jobs in Illinois?  Farkas: First thing I would do is to repeal the corporate income tax. We’ve raised that from 4.7 percent, it’s now plus the 2.5 percent replacement tax at 9.5 percent; it’s the third highest in the nation. Number one, we’ve got …

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Senate District 9 Candidates on the Education System

Find out where candidates Daniel Biss and Glenn Farkas stand on different issues.

Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) and Glenview resident Glenn Farkas recently shared their views at a debate held at Glenbrook South High School.  The candidates' answers have been lightly edited.  Want to know where the candidates stand on the pension system? Read: Senate District 9 Candidates on the Pension System Over the last decade, college tuition has skyrocketed. This jump in tuition costs has made college less and less affordable for families throughout Ilinois. During this same period, the state has simultaneously decreased the amount of funding it provides our state universities, What, if anything, can the state do to help more people afford college?  Biss: Today the state of Illinois is sending less money to University of Illinois …

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Senate District 9 Candidates on the Pension System

Find out where candidates Daniel Biss and Glenn Farkas stand on different issues.

Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) and Glenview resident Glenn Farkas recently shared their views at a debate held at Glenbrook South High School.  The candidates' answers have been lightly edited.  According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois pension fund is underfunded by about $80 billion, which would make it the highest underfunded pension system in the country. Do you believe it is possible to save our current pension system as it stands today without decreasing benefits for retirees?  Farkas: No, we can't solve it without reducing benefits.  We are going to need to start all new employees on 401k plans that are defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans like the private sector has. I’m going to need to ask retirees to look at the…

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Illinois Senate Debate at Glenbrook South Tonight

9th Illinois District candidates Daniel Biss and Glenn Farkas will debate at the GBS auditorium on Wednesday Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Glenbrook South Students Organize State Senate Debate

9th Illinois District candidates Daniel Biss and Glenn Farkas will debate at GBS on Wednesday Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Illinois State Senate candidates (9th district) Daniel Biss and Glenn Farkas will participate in a District Debate on Wednesday Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The debate will take place in the Glenbrook South High School auditorium and open to the public. The debate was organized organized by students in Mr. Kane’s social studies classes.  A former math professor at the University of Chicago, Democrat Daniel Biss is the current representative for the 17th House District in the Illinois General Assembly, first elected in 2010. Presently, he serves on seven House Committees and has been working to pass legislation regarding pensions, the environment and nuclear energy. Glenview resident and first-time political candidate, Republican Glenn Farkas, is the…

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