* The conservative Heartland Institute complained about Gov. Rauner’s budget address this week, issuing several comments which pointed out what they considered to be a glaring Rauner omission…
“I applaud what Gov. Rauner is trying to accomplish with his proposed budget, but I’m skeptical anything will change in Illinois’ political culture that will undo this state’s rapidly approaching fiscal reckoning.
“As for the education portion of the address, I would have preferred that the governor spent less time pointing how much he is increasing funding on education, and instead spent more time speaking on how he would like to improve school choice options for Illinois families.
“Hearing him say that one day he would like to see every child in Illinois have the opportunity to attend the school of their choice, including secular and religious private schools, without their family being penalized financially would lift the spirits of school choice proponents all over the state.”
Tim Benson
Policy Analyst
The Heartland Institute
“Gov. Rauner’s call for an increase in education funding fulfills a promise from his run for office. While this is a realistic approach given the dynamics in the Illinois legislature, it is a missed opportunity to call for more education choice.
“More money will not provide all students access to a good education. Education choice is the only avenue to quality educational access for Illinois children. Illinois must embrace full education choice. Until it does teacher unions, district administrators, and politicians will continue calling for increased school funding no matter how much they receive.”
Lennie Jarratt
Project Manager, Education
The Heartland Institute
“Illinois is in the midst of an eight-months-long impasse over the 2016 state budget between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic legislature. Rauner’s speech has not soothed the residents of Illinois. According to a 2013 Gallup 50-state poll, Illinois residents are the least confident in their state government, the lowest among the 50 states by a significant margin. This week’s budget address could not have possibly increased the confidence of a single resident of Illinois.”
MaryAnn McCabe
Government Relations Manager
The Heartland Institute
* Today, speaking to reporters, Rauner said this…
“I want every parent to have a choice about its schools. Whether they’re low income, or high income, they should have good options. I’m a passionate believer in choice for parents.”
He has often said this, but I suppose it was odd that he didn’t include it in his budget address.
- IllinoisBoi - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 2:46 pm:
A parent is an “it”?
- Linus - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 2:48 pm:
“More money will not provide all students access to a good education. Education choice is the only avenue to quality educational access for Illinois children.”
Precisely! We must empower more households to actively CHOOSE to attend severely underfunded schools!
- Disgruntled - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 2:55 pm:
“School choice” is a cruel joke in the large areas of Illinois that are rural. Public school districts in rural Illinois are barely hanging on and nobody is rushing to build charter or private schools to provide “choice” for the families in those areas.
- Trolling Troll - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:00 pm:
Forgetting to plug one of your sponsors could result in loss of sponsorship. Please read the following statement at your earliest press conference.
- anonymous - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:02 pm:
Is that lennie “jack roeser” jarett? He’s a libertarian all of a sudden? Doesnt bode well for heartland.
- Annonin' - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:03 pm:
Skeptical?
Just remember Flint when you try to envision anything from the $uper$tars.
- XDNR - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:08 pm:
===I’m a passionate believer in choice for parents===. Which is why I clouted my child into Peyton Prep.
- IllinoisBoi - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:12 pm:
As Disgruntled said, “choice” can only conceivably work in highly-populated areas with a good number of wealthy families. A small rural town will never have a “choice” of high-quality private schools any more than it will have a choice of high-end wine shops.
- Harry - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:22 pm:
Let’s all resolve to have an honest and open discussion about “school choice,” AFTER the barn has stopped burning down.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:25 pm:
I guess parevts could choose to call Arne Duncan, throw their wife and daughter in the bus for it, donate a quarter of a million dollars, and live in a “condo” in Chicago to get the “choice” of Payton Prep…
But then you’d be an insider. You’d be someone stepping on those who were qualified. You’d be gaming the system, you’d be ignoring New Trier’s school system.
You’d be… Bruce Rauner
- JS Mill - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:35 pm:
“Hearing him say that one day he would like to see every child in Illinois have the opportunity to attend the school of their choice, including secular and religious private schools, without their family being penalized financially would lift the spirits of school choice proponents all over the state.”
Families already have all of this. They can send their children to private, parochial, and public schools of their choice. Anytime they want. There is no penalty whatsoever. I know of no law preventing any of these options nor do I know of any law that forces economic penalties on them.
- Mama - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:49 pm:
++“Hearing him say that one day he would like to see every child in Illinois have the opportunity to attend the school of their choice, including secular and religious private schools, without their family being penalized financially would lift the spirits of school choice proponents all over the state.”++
Rauner, do you plan to bus those school voucher kids to whatever school they choose? Even if it is 50 to 100 miles away?
- Wensicia - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:53 pm:
“I want every parent to have a choice about its schools. Whether they’re low income, or high income, they should have good options.”
Yet, he doesn’t believe the option of attending the college of their choice in this state should be honored. Rauner’s a hypocrite; he’s not pro-education when he’s reusing to fund MAP grants.
- GraduatedCollegeStudent - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:55 pm:
===Families already have all of this. They can send their children to private, parochial, and public schools of their choice. Anytime they want. There is no penalty whatsoever. I know of no law preventing any of these options nor do I know of any law that forces economic penalties on them. ===
Well, see, the parents need to have subsidized access to those religious schools even when they don’t actually share the faith espoused by those religious schools. /snark
- Mama - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:55 pm:
How would your school voucher program work for rural schools? -or-
Is your school voucher program only for Chicago?
What does a ‘good school’ do when they run out of physical space to house those out of district kids, and no money to build a larger building?
- Wensicia - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 3:59 pm:
“refusing to fund MAP grants”
- IL17 - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 4:25 pm:
Rauner’s needs another billion to add to his portfolio by syphoning huge amounts from charter schools.
Charter school structures are a financial dream for hedge funds and vultures like Bruce.
Taxpayer $ should ONLY be paid to the PUBLIC system with PUBLICLY ELECTED CONTROL. Any organization sub-contracting as a private entity any aspect of public school needs must be non-profit. No member of non-profit education group my receive total compensation > median income of the MSA of the PUBLIC District.
Privatization is a MYTH, a FANTASY, and anti-community.
- MyTwoCents - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 4:31 pm:
So basically the logic of conservatives is people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when it comes to social services but when it comes to sending kids to private schools then it’s ok for the government to give people tax dollars for that? That makes sense /s.
- Elliott Ness - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 4:54 pm:
Folks will also have a “choice” for governor in the next election and I strongly suspect is will NOT be Bruce Rauner…just thinkin’ and sayin’
- South Central - Friday, Feb 19, 16 @ 4:55 pm:
IL17 @ 4:25 +1.
I graduated from a poor, rural high school, which could not even offer subjects such as chemistry and algebra every year. Five of my small graduating class finished college. A private charter school is never going to open in that kind of community. There’s not enough profit…and there lies Rauner’s real concern, I believe. He wants to open up Illinois for profit-making schools. If rural communities get by-passed (and they will be), so be it.
We must shore up and improve our public schools. The US public school system has been one of the best ideas our country ever implemented.