A few weeks ago, NIU President John LaTourette expressed his frustration about the lack of a state commitment to properly fund education. The exasperated administrator suggested (and this is a paraphrase) that he would throw himself in front of a train if he thought it would do any good.

Pardon me, Mr. President, is that the Chatanooga Choo-Choo I hear?

On Thursday, Gov. James Thompson will be raising funds for the county GOP in a 5:30 p.m. soiree at Matthew Boone’s, located right next to the tracks on First Street. With Sen. Patrick Welch and Rep. John Countryman in attendance, our president can make a dramatic statement for the cause of education.

The resulting news reports of LaTourette’s public and noble sacrifice might indeed spur the General Assembly to action. Certainly Big Jim would never forget his evening in DeKalb.

In deference to LaTourette’s family and in the belief that he can do more for NIU while intact than he can while scattered in downtown DeKalb, I am not suggesting that he ruin the governor’s day.

But LaTourette is on the right track. We need a dramatic gesture.

What we need is a two-day educational strike throughout the entire state. What we need is to shut down Illinois’ elementary and secondary schools and our community colleges and universities for 48 hours to show the General Assembly that we are mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore.

I’m not talking about a job action by disgruntled teachers and professors. I’m talking about a walkout that involves not only teachers, but students, administrators, school boards and governing boards.

A pipe dream? Last year’s Day of Action was a start.

I heard a version of the idea from a school superintendent who is worn out and frustrated at seeing the state’s share of education funding slip below 40 percent.

School and university administrators are desperate, and desperate people do desperate things.

Do you think the Illinois Education Association or the Illinois Federation of Teachers wouldn’t be interested in a dramatic gesture on behalf of education? Ask the teachers in the little town of Leaf River who are going to lose their jobs when financial pressures force their schools to consolidate with a neighboring school, also in financial trouble. Ask the NIU professor who got his or her first raise in years. Ask the library staff if they’ve tired of not having the money to buy books. Teachers and faculty across the state are ready to support a dramatic gesture.