North Cook News

State Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro (R-Carol Stream) said the state’s education system needs an overhaul and she hopes a new state superintendent is one who can help.

However, newly selected State Superintendent Tony Sanders has many critics.

“First off, I would like to extend my congratulations to Tony Sanders on his appointment as the ISBE State Superintendent,” Sanalitro told North Cook News. “However, I have serious concerns about the state of education in Illinois. There has been a trend of not being able to produce metrics that indicate student success. I hope that this appointment marks the beginning of an era where students across Illinois experience higher quality educational outcomes.”

Sanders, who became the superintendent of Elgin-based School District U-46 in 2014, was promoted to the state superintendent despite a nine-year tenure at U-46, which Wirepoints pointed out ended with poor outcomes for many students. Elgin U46 is the state’s second-largest school district with over 39,000 students in 40 elementary schools, eight middle schools, and five high schools. “At U-46, just 1 in every 10 minority students can read at grade level. For all students, it’s just 2 in 10. Sanders has been in the district since 2007 and was named superintendent there in 2014,” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner wrote.

At U-46 he was heavily involved with the implementation of Panorama Education. Burr Ridge business owner Margot Henshaw noted Sanders’ use of the scandalized company in his school district. 

“Panorama Education is a company specializing in Critical Race Theory propaganda distribution. It is owned by the daughter and son-in-law (Xan Tanner)of Merrick Garland,” Henshaw said. Garland, the current Attorney General of the United States, is, according to Henshaw the person "who unleashed the FBI on parents who objected to their school boards forking over millions of their property tax dollars to indoctrinate their children with that will not make them into productive or successful adults." Questioning the system and the proficiency results, Henshaw added that "At Hinsdale Central, the administration was well aware that parents would not approve of the program - all materials were not to leave the building and adult aides were told if they took the material or were caught copying any of the material, they would be terminated. So this was to be hidden from the parents of Hinsdale Central because the adults at HCHS wanted to secretly indoctrinate the students.  We can only guess if U-46 parents were aware of Panorama Education and liked what they heard.  What we do know is that it did not appear to help their students boost scores -   26% are proficient in math, 27% are proficient in reading.  Are these numbers to which Illinois parents should aspire?”

In 2021 it was revealed that Garland’s daughter Rebecca Garland is married to Alexander “Xan” Newman, co-founder of Panorama Education, Will County Gazette reported. Panorama Education contracts with school boards across the country to offer “social-emotional learning.” The company is unabashedly leftist even though its mainstream of income appears to come from public school systems. For example, the company offered up a book list via Twitter including a work by former leftwing terrorist Willam Ayers. Garland’s office was also in close contact with the NASB in the weeks leading ups to an announcement labeling parents at a school board meeting as a threat. This has led many to speculate the original letter was drafted with Garland’s assistance.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Rep. Sanalitro as a former General Assembly member.