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These kinds of stories make me crazy.  I heard from a Mom who worked tirelessly with the school administrators to keep her twins together in first grade.  She had meeting after meeting after meeting.  She presented research, letters from experts, etc.

Today she learned the PTA president's twins were kept together in first grade just because the PTA president asked for it.

Yes, I realize that people with connections get what they want.  I'm not new to how the system works.

I just think it's completely unfair and needs to be changed.

This is the kind of story that keeps me working on the Twins Law initiative.

About.com Mutiples in School Poll

About.com has an interesting e-newsletter about Twins and Multiples.  One of the polls on the site asks parents the big question:  How will your twins or other multiples be placed in school this year?

Interestingly, 40% of the 1,500+ parents who responded said they chose to keep their multiples together.  Only 17% chose to separate their multiples.

What does this mean for us?  Well, it's not a scientific poll, but it does show that, when given the choice, parents want to keep their multiples together.  Our mission is to make sure parents have the choice. 

Letters

Thank you to everyone who sent email to your elected officials. Please remember to copy as many members of the Education Committee as possible. All the information is in a previous post.

You are all very important in our campaign. Thank you!

You Are the Key

Thank you to everyone who is contacting your elected officials. Here's the thing about trying to pass a law. Elected officials only care about what their constituents think. Since I cannot vote for your Illinois State Representative or Senator, a note from me doesn't mean a thing.

A note from you, however, can push us over the edge. You are the key to our success.

State of Illinois House of Representatives Elementary Education Committee

We need to start contacting the Illinois House of Representatives Elementary Education Committee. Below is a complete list of those people who can help us move our bill from an idea to a law. If you can help us contact these elected officials, please email me. I'll help you pull together your letter.

http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?CommitteeID=587&GA=96


Role Representative Party
Chairperson : Michael K. Smith D
Vice-Chairperson : Fred Crespo D
Republican Spokesperson : Jerry L. Mitchell R
Member: Suzanne Bassi R
Member: John D. Cavaletto R
Member: Marlow H. Colvin D
Member: Monique D. Davis D
Member: Lisa M. Dugan D
Member: Roger L. Eddy R
Member: Robert F. Flider D
Member: Paul D. Froehlich D
Member: Esther Golar D
Member: David E. Miller D
Member: Harry Osterman D
Member: Sandra M. Pihos R
Member: Robert W. Pritchard R
Member: David Reis R
Member: Darlene J. Senger R
Member: Jim Watson R
Member: Karen A. Yarbrough D

Seeking 70s Clothing

Are you going to the Illinois Organization Of Mother Of Twins Clubs convention in October? We'll be there exhibiting on Saturday, October 17. Stop by to learn more about the Illinois Twins Law effort and how you can help.

Now, if we can just find some clothes to fit with the 1970s theme...

Illinois Legislature in Slow Mo AGAIN

By now we thought we'd be asking you to contact your legislators about supporting our Twin Law bill. We thought we'd be well on our way to building support so your senators and representatives would go back to Springfield in the fall with this issue on their agendas.

Sorry! It turns out we forgot we live in Illinois, a state unable to pass a budget on time.

We're still crossing our fingers we'll be able to report good news soon, but we know nothing will happen until after the legislature passes a budget.