Illinois Republicans have liked what several newspapers in the state have said recently about the state's school funding bill – so much so that they've sent out a press release highlighting some of the harsh words the papers reserved for Democrats.
“Just when you think Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) couldn't be more scheming, they prove you wrong,” the Chicago Tribune said in its editorial, according to the Illinois GOP. “In this case, they're jeopardizing the start of the school year. Brinkmanship at its worst. A game of chicken with school families trapped midfield.”
Senate Bill 1 established an evidence-based formula for school funding but it also contained provisions to help Chicago Public Schools with pension debt. Gov. Bruce Rauner stripped those provisions from the bill and sent the measure back to the Legislature, which could pass it, override it or do nothing, which would effectively kill SB1.
Gov. Bruce Rauner
The Belleville News-Democrat accused Democrats of trying to force a showdown at the cost of Illinois students, and the Decatur Herald & Review advocated removing the Chicago funding in line with Rauner’s demands.
“…We think education should be a political no-man’s land – a topic untouched by partisan overtones,” the Herald & Review editorial said, according to the GOP. “We think adults who have the best interests of our children should prevail in coming up with logical solutions. We also think the property tax system is fundamentally unfair. What’s the better solution? Remove the Chicago pension funding proviso from the legislation. That would meet Rauner’s satisfaction while preserving the core mission to fix the backwards funding formula.”
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