Treasurer’s Note Newsletter

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Gold Stars Then. Gold Ratings Now.

I was asked recently to name my favorite teacher for a Golden Apple celebration. It was difficult to choose from the many impactful educators in my life. I thought of my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Miller. She was an early influence in shaping how I thought about myself. My first memory is that our class had to take a two-day test. I missed a day of school and had to make it up. I think I completed both sections of the exam before many of my classmates had finished one. What…

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What My Cats Taught Me About Independence

My video about returning more than $28,000 in missing money to an animal shelter generated a lot of discussion.     I heard from many dog owners about their adoption stories and the animals that quickly became a part of their families.     I also heard from a few cat lovers asking why I didn’t more prominently showcase their feline friends.     First, we returned the money on National Dog Day, so it made sense to focus on canines.     Second, I have no anti-feline bias. True,…

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This Year’s Costumes Mean a Little More

I have always been a little jealous of people who have intricate, creative, and homemade Halloween costumes. Maybe it’s because as a kid, I frequently had the plastic costumes you would wear over your clothes with a plastic mask pressed against your face, hoping the elastic string wouldn’t break.     I wish I could say that I did better with my kids, but with the twins, we have taken the easy route.     They have dressed as a pair of pumpkins, as ketchup and mustard, and as M&M’s.…

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The Illinois Ideas That Helped Shape the World

Last week’s Treasurer’s Note unleashed a lot of pride in Illinois’ history of innovations, and readers were quick to let me know about their favorites.           Several of them, I was aware of. A few of them were new to me.           Thank you for enlightening me! Now I’d like to enlighten our readers by picking out a baker’s dozen of great Illinois innovations. We didn’t have space for them all. Hopefully, highlighting these inventions will help you learn something you didn’t…

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From Feeling Out of Place to Finding Pride

I distinctly remember the fear I felt when my aunt and uncle dropped me off on Yale’s campus 35 years ago this fall. I had never visited the school and didn’t know anyone.  As I met people, I realized there weren’t many people like me there. I grew up the son of a Teamsters truck driver in a small farming town of about 800. My parents hadn’t gone to college. My grandparents hadn’t even attended high school after dropping out in junior high to work on the farm.  I wasn’t the only…

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