Kim Knauer, who spent two decades as the public face of the Illinois State Board of Education, died Thursday, Jan. 2, after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
Ms. Knauer, 45, spent nearly 21 years representing one of the most-maligned agencies in Illinois. She served as the main spokeswoman for the board during some of its toughest times, pulling it through a scorching financial audit, a rotating door of leaders, and highly unpopular student testing changes.
She was known by co-workers and reporters for her straight talk, grace under pressure and easygoing personality. At times, she battled the media, teachers unions, local school boards, legislators and governors. But she never held a grudge and started each day as if the previous day’s battle never happened.
Ms. Knauer loved the verbal sparring and the politics, but she had one true passion.
“It was all about the kids for her,” said Glenn “Max” McGee, state superintendent of education from 1999 to 2002. “She devoted her life to making sure every school in the state was the best it could be. She never forgot that her job was about doing best for the kids, not making the agency look good.”
Ms. Knauer was born in Mt. Pulaski. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree in public-affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She was the editor of the Illio yearbook and a reporter for the Daily Illini.
She had a brief stint as an education reporter at the Belleville News-Democrat before joining the Illinois State Board of Education.
Though her agency was often at odds with education groups, Ms. Knauer was well respected. She could pick up the phone and immediately speak with union representatives, lawmakers and local superintendents.
“She was a great communicator,” said Ron Gidwitz, chairman of the State Board of Education.
Lynn Gaddis, Illinois Teacher of the Year in 1995, said Ms. Knauer worked tirelessly to bring educators into the public discussion on education. She ran the state board’s educator recognition awards and instituted a program where the winners traveled the state to share their talents with other districts.
“She respected us,” said Gaddis, who worked as a 6th-grade teacher in Normal. “She gave teachers a voice we wouldn’t have had had she not been there. She wanted to celebrate the best and not dwell on the bad stuff.”
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Ms. Knauer received an Award of Excellence from the National Association of State Education Department Information Officers in 1984 and the organization’s Award of Distinction in 1986.
She participated in the Big Brother-Big Sister organization in Springfield and was named Big Sister of the Year in 1992.
She was an avid hockey fan and papered her office walls with posters of Blake Sloan, a Park Ridge native who plays for the Calgary Flames.
Since her diagnosis with cancer seven years ago, Ms. Knauer was always seen wearing two lapel pins: a rhinestone-studded breast cancer survivor button and a gold “Children First” pin.
Survivors include her parents, Darrell and Mary Wachter Knauer; a sister, Annette Detwiler; and a brother, Kevin.
Visitation will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Fricke, Calvert and Schrader Funeral Home in Mt. Pulaski. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Mt. Pulaski.