New Broadview co-working space opens Page 9
New Illinois Report Card data show troubling attendance trends
NOVEMBER 8, 2023
Vol. VIII No. 44
vfpress.news
Villages get funds for holiday festivities Page 2
Military veterans honored across Proviso Township
School attendance among students and teachers is down sharply By Michael Romain Editor
Publisher’s Note: This is the first part in a series of articles examining the new Illinois Report Card data. The Illinois State Board of Education released a new Illinois Report Card on Nov. 1 and perhaps the most alarming insight is that attendance — among students and teachers — continues to plummet since the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Across the state, the percentage of students who are chronically absent, or who miss 10% or more school days each year either with or without a valid excuse, climbed from 17% in 2018 to 28% in 2023. The percentage of students in Illinois who are chronically truant, or who miss at least 5% of school days each year without a valid excuse, declined slightly from 22% in 2022 to 20% in 2023. But across elementary school districts and See REPORT CARD on page 7
MICHAEL ROMAIN
Members of the Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnest School JROTC Eagle Battalion march in the 21st Annual Veterans Day parade in Hillside on Nov. 4.
Melrose Park hosts Legionnaire of the Year during annual Veterans Observance, Hillside names World War II vet as Grand Marshal By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Veterans Day is Nov. 11, but former U.S. military personnel across Proviso Township were honored at various events where community members reflected on qualities like service and sacrifice. “Service members we honor today came from all walks of life, but they have several fundamental qualities,” said Dan Bogojevich, chairman of Evanston American Legion Post 42 Charitable Foundation. “They possess courage, pride, determination and, most importantly, selflessness, and dedication to duty, and integrity.” Bogojevich, who was awarded the American Legion Department of Illinois
Legionnaire of the Year Award in 2022, gave the keynote address at the annual Veterans Park District Observance at the Bulger Park Community Center, 1601 W Hirsch St. in Melrose Park on Nov. 3. “All those qualities are needed to serve a cause greater than oneself,” Bogojevich added. “That’s very important because you don’t join the military to make a bunch of money.” Bogojevich may have been describing George Cross, a World War II who was the Grand Marshal in the 21st Annual VeterSee VETERANS DAY on page 5