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Fran Spielman reports on the arrival of US Education Sec. Arne Duncan and Atty. Gen. Eric Holder in Chicago today. The duo will meet with Mayor Richard Daley to discuss escalating youth violence and the Derrion Albert tragedy.

The mayor also wants Holder to: use “the full power of his office to help us break up” street gangs; “better align” Justice Department resources in Chicago with local “efforts to break up gangs, fight guns and address youth violence” and to share critical information between schools and local law enforcement on youth violence.

Lynn Sweet has more details, including plans for a City Hall press conference at 11am.

The Tribune’s Azam Ahmed has Gov. Pat Quinn’s related comments from a press conference yesterday on after-school programming.

Quinn said Illinois isn't alone in its struggles to pay the bills, and said among the first things states cut during budget crunches are after school programs that target at-risk youth. Quinn said the federal government should pump more dollars into these programs, or at least let states borrow money at a low rate to keep community programs running.

Deborah Shelton and Stephanie Banchero explore the science and policy behind youth violence prevention.

Fran Spielman reports on the arrival of US Education Sec. Arne Duncan and Atty. Gen. Eric Holder in Chicago today. The duo will meet with Mayor Richard Daley to discuss escalating youth violence and the Derrion Albert tragedy.

The mayor also wants Holder to: use “the full power of his office to help us break up” street gangs; “better align” Justice Department resources in Chicago with local “efforts to break up gangs, fight guns and address youth violence” and to share critical information between schools and local law enforcement on youth violence.

Lynn Sweet has more details, including plans for a City Hall press conference at 11am.

The Tribune’s Azam Ahmed has Gov. Pat Quinn’s related comments from a press conference yesterday on after-school programming.

Quinn said Illinois isn't alone in its struggles to pay the bills, and said among the first things states cut during budget crunches are after school programs that target at-risk youth. Quinn said the federal government should pump more dollars into these programs, or at least let states borrow money at a low rate to keep community programs running.

Deborah Shelton and Stephanie Banchero explore the science and policy behind youth violence prevention.

We begin losing children the day they are born. Though it once was believed that people are born pacifists and learn violent behavior, research suggests otherwise. ... "There is one chain of thought that, 'Hey, this is about getting tough on kids so we need zero tolerance,' " Huberman said. "Our data showed the exact opposite. We need to engage kids in conflict resolution, get them in front of social workers, deal with their emotional needs."

A Bloomberg article suggests Duncan’s visit goofs up a chance to take on the gun lobby.

“Where there have been opportunities for the president to speak out about the issue of firearm violence, he has missed any number of opportunities,” said Thom Mannard, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

An AP article draws a connection between school closings under Ren10 and the city’s streak of violence.

Before the 2006 school year, an average of 10-15 public school students were fatally shot each year. That soared to 24 deadly shootings in the 2006-07 school year, 23 deaths and 211 shootings in the 2007-08 school year and 34 deaths and 290 shootings last school year. ... "You have a trail of blood and tears ever since they launched (Renaissance 2010)," said Tio Hardiman, director of the anti-violence organization CeaseFire Illinois. "There's a history of violence associated with moving kids from one area to another."

Huberman’s violence prevention strategy gets a closer look in the New York Times.

Financed by federal stimulus grants for two years, the $60 million plan uses a formula gleaned from an analysis of more than 500 students who were shot over the last several years to predict the characteristics of potential future victims, including when and where they might be attacked. While other big city school districts, including New York, have tried to focus security efforts on preventing violence, this plan goes further by identifying the most vulnerable students and saturating them with adult attention, including giving each of them a paid job and a local advocate who would be on call for support 24 hours a day.

More from the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

* WBEZ’s Julia McEvoy reminds us of Huberman's plans to make another $61 million in budget cuts this year—from contract spending to administrative positions.

* WBEZ also ran a story this morning on CORE’s efforts to further expose painful “20th day” teacher cuts.

* PURE says Judge Hall has pushed back to November 20 her decision in the LSC and alternative schools case.

* D299 features the Avondale Montessori Academy, a new charter planned for the Avondale community next fall. 

* Terry Howerton of the Illinois Technology Association writes into the Tribune to encourage Mayor Daley to direct his post-Olympics energy into education issues. 

* Chicago Tonight will sit down with UI’s interim president tonight.

* Harry Porterfield’s ‘Someone You Should Know’: Hazel Bauman, a volunteer at Decauter Classical

Around Illinois

* More in the AP on Quinn’s push to restore MAP grants—cut by his own pen stroke.

* The Education Funding Advisory Board meets today in the Thompson center.

Across the country

* Yesterday, I wrote about Duncan’s distribution plan for the i3 Fund. But I wasn’t the only one.

Libby Quaid with AP highlights the plan, too, with an important note on TFA.

In August, Duncan said Teach for America and programs like it could benefit from the competition. Begun in 1990, the nonprofit recruits recent college graduates to teach in poor communities for at least two years. The group sent an unprecedented 4,100 recruits into the classroom this fall.

And Sam Dillion with the Times also wrote about i3, including mention of charter organization Green Dot.

More on the i3 initiative from CNN and Ed Week.

* Ed Week also takes note of a GAO report on state testing systems and budget pressures and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ urging for a new high school instructional approach.