Ayers Brothers Led Annenberg Grantees and Contributed to Obama

Both William Ayers and his brother, John Ayers, ran organizations that received grants from the Chicago Annenberg Challenge run by Barack Obama, and both also contributed to at least one of Obama’s political campaigns.

William Ayers is a one-time leader of the Weather Underground domestic terrorist group that in the 1970s took credit for bombing the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol. “I don’t regret setting bombs,” Ayers told the New York Times in 2001 about his experience with the Weathermen. “I feel we didn’t do enough.”

In 1995, Obama, then a Chicago lawyer, received an early boost in his initial bid for the Illinois State Senate, when he went to a political meeting at Ayers’ home.

From 1995 through 2001, Obama was chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), a foundation that gave away $49.2 million to promote improvement in Chicago’s public school. At the same time, Ayers served as chairman of the Chicago Schools Collaborative, an arm of the CAC that set its education policy.

From 1992 through 2002, Ayers was also the co-director of a group called the Small Schools Workshop, which promoted public schools that advanced themes such as peace studies, multiculturalism and environmentalism.

From 1998-2002, the CAC gave the Small Schools Workshop at least $800,000 in grants, according to publicly available IRS 990 forms filed by the CAC.

In 2001, according to the records of the Illinois State Board of Elections, Ayers made a $200 contribution to Obama’s state senate campaign.

Ayers’ brother, John, has made a total of $2,445 in contributions to Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign and presidential campaign.

On May 5, 2003, John Ayers contributed $250 to the Senate race. On May 14, 2003, he contributed $1,000 to the Senate campaign. On January 24, 2004, he gave $200 to the Senate race. On Feb. 24, 2004, he gave $200 to the Senate race. On March 2, 2004, he contributed $250 to the Senate race. On Dec. 20, 2007, he gave $245 to the presidential race. On July 31, 2008, he contributed $300 to the presidential campaign.

John Ayers served for 10 years as executive director of Leadership for Quality Education, a Chicago group that promotes charter schools and small public schools. In 1998, when John Ayers was there, the Obama-led CAC gave Leadership for Quality Education an $85,000 grant.

William Ayers’ $200 donation to Obama’s state senate campaign in 2001 is the only campaign contribution he made to Obama.

Neither John Ayers nor William Ayers could be reached for comment on this story despite numerous phone messages and e-mails sent to them by CNSNews.com.

John Ayers is no longer with the Leadership for Quality Education. He is now with the National Association of Charter School Authorities.

The Ayers brothers are the sons of Thomas Ayers, who served as chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Edison in the 1970s. The elder Ayers died on June 8, 2007 at age 92 from congestive heart failure.

"This is a guy [Bill Ayers] who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis."

Source: ABC News - Transcript: Obama and Clinton Debate, April 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/DemocraticDebate/Story?id=4670271&page=2

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[Obama] is named Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge founded by Bill Ayers
(article typo has Ayers instead of Obama)

In late 1993, Bill Ayers, now an associate professor of education at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus, organized a team to put together a grant proposal to secure nearly $50 million from the Annenberg Challenge. The money was to be used by Ayers and co. to bolster the radical Local School Councils reform project that Ayers and Obama had championed back in 1988 through the ABCs.

The grant application was successful and in early 1995 Barack Obama was named chairman of the board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Ayers was named co-chair of the Challenge’s operative and strategic body, the Chicago School Reform Collaborative. Ayers and Obama work together for the next five years on raising an additional $60 million in matching money from local foundations and corporations and using the money to intervene in the governance of the Chicago public schools.

The Challenge through a multi-million dollar Leadership Development Initiative intervened in the School Council elections in the middle of what was known as the Chicago School Wars. At the same time Chicago Mayor Richard Daley was pushing, successfully, to gut the power of the Councils.

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/08/12/the-obama-ayers-top-ten-highlights-of-the-20-year-obama-ayers-connection/

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"The Small Schools Workshop was founded in 1991 at the University of Illinois at Chicago to provide support for teachers who were trying to create new smaller learning environments. Its director is Michael Klonsky, a former professor of education at UIC."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Schools_Workshop

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Some background on Bill Ayers' SDS comrade, Michael Klonsky
(Chicago Annenberg Challenge-related)

"One of Bill Ayers’ and Bernardine Dohrn’s comrades in the late 60s Students for a Democratic Society was Mike Klonsky. When Dohrn and Ayers moved in one direction toward the violent tactics of the Weather Underground, Klonsky, in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, dropped the pro-Russian communist politics of his parents and became a committed Maoist. As leader of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) in 1977 [not to be confused with Communist Party USA. CPML no longer exists, CPUSA formed decades earlier and is still around-ETL], he travelled to Beijing and was toasted by the senior Beijing leadership.

When the crazy left of the 70s died in the 80s, Klonsky went to graduate school in education in Florida and then moved to Chicago.

While driving a cab there he [Michael Klonsky] was recruited by his old friend Bill Ayers to head up a new project called the Small Schools Workshop in 1991. It’s offices were in the Department of Education building at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus where Ayers taught.

In 1995 the newly formed Chicago Annenberg Challenge headed by Ayers and Obama gave the Workshop a grant of $175,000.

The Annenberg Challenge also had its office space in the same building as Ayers Department and the Workshop, rent free courtesy of the University.

In 2008 Klonsky ran a blog on the official Obama campaign website on education policy and “social justice” teaching. When discussion of the Klonsky blog emerged in the blogosphere, it was promptly shut down by the campaign and all of the posts made by Klonsky were removed from the site."

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/08/12/the-obama-ayers-top-ten-highlights-of-the-20-year-obama-ayers-connection/

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In 1977, the October League was reorganized as the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) [again, not Communist Party USA (CPUSA) -ETL] and former SDS activist Michael Klonsky became party chairman. Also in 1977, Klonsky traveled to China and the CPML was recognized by the Chinese Communist Party as its official sister party in America.

(snip)

In January 1981, Michael Klonsky resigned as party chairman, and the CPML disbanded that same year.

The previous Red Encyclopedia description of the CPML was incorrectly combined with that of the Communist Party USA (Marxist-Leninist).

http://reds.linefeed.org/past.html

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From Investor's Business Daily (IBD), August 27, 2008:

"Ayers, now a tenured distinguished professor of education at UIC, works to educate teachers in socialist revolutionary ideology, urging that it be passed on to impressionable students.

One of Ayer's descriptions for a course called 'Improving Learning Environments' says prospective K-12 teachers need to 'be aware of the social and moral universe we inhabit and ... be a teacher capable of hope and struggle, outrage and action, teaching for social justice and liberation.

The Annenberg papers are quite extensive — 132 boxes containing 947 file folders with 70 linear feet of material. They undoubtedly contain more surprises regarding Obama's relationship with Ayers, one of many relationships Obama has sought to hide.'..."

Article: Annenberg Papers: Putting On Ayers?
http://www.ibdeditorial.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=304729375940845

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Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA [Maoist]
Revolution #63, October 1, 2006

Interview with Bill Ayers:
"On Progressive Education, Critical Thinking and the Cowardice of Some in Dangerous Times"
http://rwor.org/a/063/ayers-en.html

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