Illinois students are set to return to the classroom within a matter of weeks, but the state can’t send money to schools until a new funding plan gets signed into law.
The issue has turned into a showdown between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature. The governor is calling lawmakers back for special session starting Wednesday to deal with what’s known as SB1, short for Senate Bill 1.
The number shows how important this measure is. It would overhaul the state’s 20-year-old funding model, which is the most inequitable in the nation.
Rauner said he likes 90 percent of the plan, but wants to amend it to remove help for Chicago Public Schools pensions. He would also strip $200 million from a CPS block grant.
“See, this is the misperception. This is the spin coming from the other side. Money is not being taken away from Chicago. Money, under the current SB1, diverts money from the rest of the state and the suburbs to Chicago. We wanna stop that," Rauner said Monday.
The governor’s website touting his plan specifies the elimination of those funds.
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