The Illinois Republican Party is gathering ammunition in its efforts to paint a portrait of pandering to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in Senate Bill 1, the state's public school funding measure.
Highlighting editorials from the Chicago Tribune and the Alton Telegraph, GOP spokesman Steve Yaffe said it's clear that House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) is using his "Chicago Machine" to hurt schoolchildren.
“This state and its leaders have been studying and debating school funding reform since the late 1990s,” the Tribune said. “Here's your chance, lawmakers. Get something done. Suppress your egos. Stop posturing to please this or that constituency. Set aside 2018. And don't let [Gov. Bruce Rauner's] changes to the bill crush the chance for real funding reform.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner
The Telegraph endorsed Gov. Bruce Rauner's amendatory veto of the provisions in the bill deemed preferential to CPS.
“Schools deserve to be fairly and equitably funded, without property owners having to pony up more and more while watching state money being poured into the troubled Chicago school system,” the Telegraph said. “Rauner made the right call. Pension debt is a serious matter and must be dealt with, but it is damaging to all school systems to allow provisions that favor a single district stay in this plan. It should not be included in Senate Bill 1.”
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