Founded in 1853, the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and its predecessors have played a vital role in shaping the Illinois public school system. Thomas J. Suhrbur’s history covers the lifespan of the IEA within the larger story of state public education as a battleground for contentious social and economic issues.

Suhrbur pays particular attention to the impact of race, gender, religion, and tax policy on the IEA and public schools. He also examines the IEA’s evolution from a professional organization controlled by administrations and officials through its radical transformation into a teacher-led independent labor union. As a workers’ organization, the IEA successfully fought for collective bargaining and organized K–12 and higher education while continually standing against right-wing efforts to privatize education and undermine public schools with vouchers, for-profit institutions, and tax credits.

Multifaceted and up to date, Public Education and Social Reform tells the story of the organization and figures dedicated to sustaining and advancing Illinois public education.

Thomas J. Suhrbur is an affiliate of the Illinois Labor History Society and a retired IEA organizer.

Prologue

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Democratic Ideals and the Creation of the Illinois Public School System, 1825–1900
2. Chicago Teachers Federation: The First Public Education Union and Its Influence on the Association
3. ISTA and Labor Union Allies: Advancing the Cause of Public Education
4. A Growing Fiscal Crisis on the Eve of the Great Depression
5. Democratic Reform and Increasing Teacher Militancy
6. Professional Solidarity or Professional Unionism, 1960–1970
7. A Radical Transformation
8. Bargaining without a Law
9. Internecine Warfare and the IFT Challenge
10. President Weaver and Bargaining Legislation, 1981–1984
11. Organizing K<EN>-12 under the Act
12. Organizing Higher Education
13. School Reform

Epilogue

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index