I consider this week to the be one of the biggest news weeks of 2011. If not the biggest. Let me break it down for you. You like anniversaries of American tragedies? 10th anniversary of 9/11. You like education stories? School is back and Rahm vs. CTU. Do you like state house stories? Quinn is going to lay some people off even though he said he wouldn’t. You like national political news? President Obama and jobs. Media? Daily Herald goes paywall today. Oh, and for good measure, the Chicago Bears kick off their 2011/2012 campaign on Sunday. So yeah, big week.

Top story: Today, Eight Forty-Eight is all over this story, but I have to know if this is the first time in Chicago Public School history that schools have gone against the teachers union and voted individually? If you aren’t following, Mayor Emanuel said he wanted to have a longer school day and offered teachers a two percent raise. The Chicago Teachers Union said no way. They voted against that idea. So Mayor Emanuel just offered the deal direct to the individual schools and a few have taken it, splitting from the union. Emanuel, smelling blood in the water, is publicly pushing for more schools to do the same. Wow. So I ask again, has that ever happened before?

B story: Governor Quinn has some bills due. And he doesn’t have enough money to pay them. He promised the unions that he wouldn’t cut jobs and today rumor has it he is turning back on that promise, and he will lay off state workers to make budget. That’s a tough move for Quinn, who suggests he has no other choice. Even Bill Brady questions the move. That’s when you know you are in deep trouble.

C story: Jobs. Someone else do some research here. Has there ever been a senator or congressman that has sat out a joint session where the president speaks? Will Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh be the first? Probably not. But maybe he’s the first congressman from Illinois?

D story: Remember when banks didn’t look like Taco Bells? Yeah, remember when Chicago banks prided themselves on architecture? I don’t. But Lee Bey does.

E story: The Book of Mormon is coming to Chicago in 2012. That’s pretty awesome.

Weather: Beautiful fall weather.

Sports: Bears GM Jerry Angelo said he will not rework the existing contracts for Matt Forte or Lance Briggs. That is for the off season. So we have that little sub-plot drama to look forward to all year. And when did Mike Mulligan start writing for the Trib? He’s got a piece today about how this team is getting old. The Trib’s lineup for Bears coverage is looking pretty good this year.

Kicker: Flash mobs are so yesterday. Today? It’s flash (dance) mobs. A new mission from Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This is a great twist, performed in Millenium Park: