With the landmark education funding legislation that Governor Rauner signed into law, Illinois has its first-ever scholarship tax credit program to help children receive a better education, in addition to the highest level of public education funding ever.
The scholarship program is specifically designed to help Illinois’ neediest children. Only students whose families earn less than 300% of the poverty level are elligible for the scholarships. Programs such as this have been praised by education advocates as empowering for low-income children.
The Democrats running for governor, however, all opposed the scholarship program. And the candidates spoke out in opposition to the compromise bill that passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Rauner.
J.B. Pritzker promised to do away with this program, taking away school choice from the thousands of low-income children it is designed to help. He continues to tout his opposition as well as his running mate’s ‘no’ vote on the compromise.
Chris Kennedy and Ameya Pawar also oppose providing low-income children with the opportunity to choose what educational opportunities are best for them. According to them, providing Illinois’ neediest families with the ability to choose the best education for their children is “wrong.”
State Sen. Daniel Biss not only voiced his opposition, but cast his vote against the compromise bill. Biss called it “absurd” to include a program that directly benefits needy communities in the state.
Time after time, the Democrat gubernatorial candidates have shown that they do not stand on the side of the people. Their united opposition to historic reform is a clear example that their policies are wrong for our children and wrong for Illinois.
Andy Manar sold out to Chicago politicians when he proposed a new school funding formula this year. Manar actually proposed cutting numerous school districts that Manar represents. Carlinville, Staunton, and Hillsboro would have seen cuts of about half a million dollars. Taylorville would have seen nearly a million dollars less in funding from Manar. In fact, Manar wanted to give Chicago Public Schools a 500 million dollar bailout.
Those district figures McMillan mentions are apparently the same ones that Gov. Rauner used to tout his own school funding proposal which went absolutely nowhere…
* Rep. Avery Bourne, a Republican who represents half of Sen. Manar’s district (and would usually therefore be considered a McMillan ally), penned this op-ed with Manar in September…
One main Republican concern under the previous version of school funding reform was that Chicago would have received its pension payment through the school funding formula, skewing education dollars to Chicago Public Schools first. Under this compromise, Chicago still does well — like all other underfunded school districts. The bipartisan agreement pays downstate teacher pensions in full and moves Chicago’s pension costs out of the school funding formula, treating that district like every other school district in the state. Chicago also is given the ability to raise its property taxes so that it will support its own schools locally, just like every other district in the state.
One main Democratic concern under the governor’s amendatory veto of the previous version of school funding reform was his move to strike several provisions that protected underfunded schools in future years from potential cuts. The bipartisan agreement keeps these provisions intact, ensuring that the state continues to make underfunded schools its highest priority with the goal of eliminating our worst-in-the-nation inequity gap.
In short, this compromise treats all 852 Illinois school districts the same and will benefit every school district and every student in the state.
Changing that pension language as the Republicans demanded actually increased the amount of money going to CPS.
* McMillan got his $500 million number from the ILGOP…
Mike Madigan and his political allies are trying to hold schoolchildren hostage in order to force through a $500 million Chicago bailout without reform.
And that brings us to the top of this post, which has the ILGOP praising the new law (which gives CPS more than the Democrats asked for) and bashing the Democrats for opposing it.
* But it’s not just the Republicans. From the Pritzker campaign’s response to Rauner’s new TV ad…
According to Bruce Rauner, Illinois is a pile of dirty socks and pizza and he is the parent cleaning up after Illinois families. We get that it’s hard to run a campaign without accomplishments, but it’s generally best not to both lie and insult voters in a single ad. The truth is, Bruce Rauner pitted communities against each other, vetoed the school funding formula, and then forced other leaders to clean up his mess
Except, as noted above, Pritzker didn’t support the final bill. He did support an earlier version of the bill, however and got blasted for it…
“J.B. Pritzker’s support for SB1 in its current form is all about politics, not the children. He knows that a Chicago bailout hurts children across Illinois by redistributing their tax dollars towards a broken pension system without reform, but he doesn’t care. Pritzker is willing to hurt children in order to maintain his good favor with Mike Madigan’s Chicago machine.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
Rauner signed the “Chicago bailout” and touts it as his crowning moment, as his signature made it so.
The battle is between Democrats calling out Rauner and disingenuous Republicans for their flipping on the bill’s meaning, and Republicans using Rauner’s signature and the monies behind Rauner to talk up an education victory over the hypocrisy.
Wonder how Ms. Bourne feels about HB40, given her district and in September the Rauner point-person status on Education.
Will those Republicans with righteous indignation overlook things to piggy-back on the Education success that is Rauner’s signature?
The Republican should not get alarmed about the Chicago bailout, given the discovery of an additional $7.5 billion in unpaid bills sitting at agencies and the reality that the approved grand bargain budget was underfunded, the chances of CPS seeing all of this money consistently over the next few school years are not high.
This budgetary fraud was perpetrated on the public with both the knowledge of Republican and Democrat elected officials. Senator Manar is an easy target to blame for cheerleading all of this, but many had a hand in this.
Why is it most D’s want to deprive minority kids a chance for. Better education. Of course Union opposition to charters has nothing to do with the hostility toward Charter alternatives. The Dems who can afford to send their kids to private schools are Fricking hypocrites on this issue. Wonder where the Kennedy and Pritzker kids went to school. I assume it wasn’t CPS
Yet JB’s campaign on Facebook highlights the endorsement of a director from a charter school.
- Been there, done that - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:26 pm:
O.W. Seems Ms. Bourne has been completely silent on HB40; haven’t seen a peep about it from her in the press or on her social media. Not really surprised considering that a large chuck of her 2016 campaign finances came from Rauner. She has only raised around $16,000 on her own since the first of the year. Far cry from the $1.6 million last year funneled through the House Republicans and ILGOP.
===Why is it most D’s want to deprive minority kids a chance for. Better education.===
No. First, there’s no requirement that this money go to “minority” kids, so get out of here with that.
Second, giving a few dozen kids money to go to a private school does absolutely nothing to solve the problems with our public education system. The notion that we should “save” a few kids instead of actually investing in helping everyone is toxic. We’re never going to be able to subsidize the private school education of every Illinoisian, which means we’re always going to be leaving most kids behind when we do things like this.
Ms. Bourne and her colleagues enabled Bruce and Diana Rauner. Now it’s hoping no one noticed and cherry-picking where they can “agree” which it seems isn’t “80%” of that Diana Rauner “no social agenda”
You have to have your own thoughts to be thoughtful.
Given talking points is being fed thoughts. That’s how it works I guess.
The GOP can’t have it both ways. If the final bill was an outstanding achievement, as Rauner now claims, then Sen. Manar deserves the lion’s share of the credit. If it was an indefensible Chicago bailout, as Manar’s GOP opponent claims, then Rauner deserves the lion’s share of the blame for signing it. So which is it?
JB’s and the rest of the Democratic candidates opposition to tax advantages to fund scholarships (for needy children to attend a Catholic school instead of a failing neighborhood public school), is all about keeping union special interest groups happy and has absolutely nothing to do with helping poor children get a good education.
JB never attended public school and he like other prominent Chicago politicians like President Obama, Rahm and Forest Claypool send their children to expensive private schools. Apparently they think that is a privilege reserved just for wealthy people, not poor kids.
===JB never attended public school and he like other prominent Chicago politicians like President Obama, Rahm and Forest Claypool send their children to expensive private schools.===
Bruce and Diana Rauner clouted their denied Winnetka-living daughter over a worthy Chicago child.
===Apparently they think that is a privilege reserved just for wealthy people, not poor kids.===
I guess Bruce and Diana Rauner think even less of poor worthy Chicago kids.
When you clout your denied Winnetka-living daughter into a CPS school over a worthy Chicago child, you can’t say Bruce and Diana Rauner care about educating children unless the child’s name is Rauner and they can use the Rauner wealth to deny a worthy child.
Lucky Pierre, I’m rather old fashioned. Under the principle of separation of church and state, I am not in favor of using tax dollars to support a religious education. I’m glad that J.B. agrees with me.
- Ginhouse Tommy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 2:16 pm:
OW There is a political ad running on TV here in Spfld that glorifies a great victory in education funding, a new formula making equal funding across the board for all school kids. It was a long hard battle but in the end school funding won. At the end of the ad it said Rauner for Governor. Couldn’t believe it.
Lil Pepe,
Why would someone educated in public school want to see them fail? If you’re a private school kid, why would you denounce other private school kids? Did you choose, or did your parents? If your parents chose, why would you belittle those whose parents also chose for them?
Why would you insult a parent’s choice of school for their children? Don’t believe it ought to be their choice or what?
I don’t want my taxes going to private schools when they ought to go to public schools. Don’t like public schools? Fix them.
Your statements include unprovable absolutes - “is all about keeping unions special interest groups happy”, “has absolutely nothing to do with helping poor children”, like you somehow know what they’re thinking and doing. What garbage.
I don’t know where you were educated, but they owe you a complete refund.
The Raunerbots, shockingly, ignore the point of the thread: that Rauner is running spots touting a school funding bill that the great majority of Republicans voted against.
Wait until next fall when Rauner is running spots up north on a “woman’s right to choose.”
- Boone's is Back - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 3:26 pm:
God, I think they have been using that same narrator since the last election cycle. To think that I have to hear her voice again constantly brings chills down my spine…
I’ve been seeing these ads from Rauner lately. It’s amusing to me to see him take credit for the education plan and yet he can’t seem to take the blame for anything. So, in his world, it’s not his fault . . . unless it’s something good.
- 360 Degree TurnAround - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 12:48 pm:
I don’t know Steven Yaffe. He may want to familiarize himself with all of the Governor’s vetoes before issuing any more statements.
Mama always said free speech doesn’t have to be accurate speech.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 12:54 pm:
To the Post,
Rauner signed the “Chicago bailout” and touts it as his crowning moment, as his signature made it so.
The battle is between Democrats calling out Rauner and disingenuous Republicans for their flipping on the bill’s meaning, and Republicans using Rauner’s signature and the monies behind Rauner to talk up an education victory over the hypocrisy.
Wonder how Ms. Bourne feels about HB40, given her district and in September the Rauner point-person status on Education.
Will those Republicans with righteous indignation overlook things to piggy-back on the Education success that is Rauner’s signature?
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:05 pm:
This is what happens when a governor is completely disinterested in governing, legislation, staffing, leadership, commitments or honesty.
The instability here is completely Rauner’s fault as well as his willingness to boldly take opposite stands for short-term political gain.
This guy’s got a real knack for incompetence.
- Rod - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:08 pm:
The Republican should not get alarmed about the Chicago bailout, given the discovery of an additional $7.5 billion in unpaid bills sitting at agencies and the reality that the approved grand bargain budget was underfunded, the chances of CPS seeing all of this money consistently over the next few school years are not high.
This budgetary fraud was perpetrated on the public with both the knowledge of Republican and Democrat elected officials. Senator Manar is an easy target to blame for cheerleading all of this, but many had a hand in this.
- Sue - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:13 pm:
Why is it most D’s want to deprive minority kids a chance for. Better education. Of course Union opposition to charters has nothing to do with the hostility toward Charter alternatives. The Dems who can afford to send their kids to private schools are Fricking hypocrites on this issue. Wonder where the Kennedy and Pritzker kids went to school. I assume it wasn’t CPS
- My thoughts - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:22 pm:
Yet JB’s campaign on Facebook highlights the endorsement of a director from a charter school.
- Been there, done that - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:26 pm:
O.W. Seems Ms. Bourne has been completely silent on HB40; haven’t seen a peep about it from her in the press or on her social media. Not really surprised considering that a large chuck of her 2016 campaign finances came from Rauner. She has only raised around $16,000 on her own since the first of the year. Far cry from the $1.6 million last year funneled through the House Republicans and ILGOP.
- PJ - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:28 pm:
===Why is it most D’s want to deprive minority kids a chance for. Better education.===
No. First, there’s no requirement that this money go to “minority” kids, so get out of here with that.
Second, giving a few dozen kids money to go to a private school does absolutely nothing to solve the problems with our public education system. The notion that we should “save” a few kids instead of actually investing in helping everyone is toxic. We’re never going to be able to subsidize the private school education of every Illinoisian, which means we’re always going to be leaving most kids behind when we do things like this.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:30 pm:
- Been there, done that -
Ms. Bourne and her colleagues enabled Bruce and Diana Rauner. Now it’s hoping no one noticed and cherry-picking where they can “agree” which it seems isn’t “80%” of that Diana Rauner “no social agenda”
You have to have your own thoughts to be thoughtful.
Given talking points is being fed thoughts. That’s how it works I guess.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:34 pm:
Hey Sue,
Love the old Rush Limbaugh talking points from 25 years ago. Good times.
- anon2 - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:34 pm:
The GOP can’t have it both ways. If the final bill was an outstanding achievement, as Rauner now claims, then Sen. Manar deserves the lion’s share of the credit. If it was an indefensible Chicago bailout, as Manar’s GOP opponent claims, then Rauner deserves the lion’s share of the blame for signing it. So which is it?
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:37 pm:
JB’s and the rest of the Democratic candidates opposition to tax advantages to fund scholarships (for needy children to attend a Catholic school instead of a failing neighborhood public school), is all about keeping union special interest groups happy and has absolutely nothing to do with helping poor children get a good education.
JB never attended public school and he like other prominent Chicago politicians like President Obama, Rahm and Forest Claypool send their children to expensive private schools. Apparently they think that is a privilege reserved just for wealthy people, not poor kids.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:42 pm:
===JB never attended public school and he like other prominent Chicago politicians like President Obama, Rahm and Forest Claypool send their children to expensive private schools.===
Bruce and Diana Rauner clouted their denied Winnetka-living daughter over a worthy Chicago child.
===Apparently they think that is a privilege reserved just for wealthy people, not poor kids.===
I guess Bruce and Diana Rauner think even less of poor worthy Chicago kids.
You’re welcome.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:45 pm:
When you clout your denied Winnetka-living daughter into a CPS school over a worthy Chicago child, you can’t say Bruce and Diana Rauner care about educating children unless the child’s name is Rauner and they can use the Rauner wealth to deny a worthy child.
- Aldyth - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 1:53 pm:
Lucky Pierre, I’m rather old fashioned. Under the principle of separation of church and state, I am not in favor of using tax dollars to support a religious education. I’m glad that J.B. agrees with me.
- Ginhouse Tommy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 2:16 pm:
OW There is a political ad running on TV here in Spfld that glorifies a great victory in education funding, a new formula making equal funding across the board for all school kids. It was a long hard battle but in the end school funding won. At the end of the ad it said Rauner for Governor. Couldn’t believe it.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 2:23 pm:
===At the end of the ad it said Rauner for Governor. Couldn’t believe it.===
A signature is owned, because without it, Chicago wouldn’t have gotten its bailout… and it’s fair…
… until the Dems decide that they all should, at every level, and some in Ads, call out the hypocrisy of things that may or may not be SB1.
Rauner never ever let up on Quinn, while going after “Careerfellas” in the primary.
The incumbent Rauner remembers going after Quinn and is staving off “Skyhook, in reverse”.
Until January or so Rauner may have an open field for ads truthful enough to pass muster.
The sad part is, believe it, it’s happening.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 2:36 pm:
Lil Pepe,
Why would someone educated in public school want to see them fail? If you’re a private school kid, why would you denounce other private school kids? Did you choose, or did your parents? If your parents chose, why would you belittle those whose parents also chose for them?
Why would you insult a parent’s choice of school for their children? Don’t believe it ought to be their choice or what?
I don’t want my taxes going to private schools when they ought to go to public schools. Don’t like public schools? Fix them.
Your statements include unprovable absolutes - “is all about keeping unions special interest groups happy”, “has absolutely nothing to do with helping poor children”, like you somehow know what they’re thinking and doing. What garbage.
I don’t know where you were educated, but they owe you a complete refund.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 2:55 pm:
The Raunerbots, shockingly, ignore the point of the thread: that Rauner is running spots touting a school funding bill that the great majority of Republicans voted against.
Wait until next fall when Rauner is running spots up north on a “woman’s right to choose.”
- Boone's is Back - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 3:26 pm:
God, I think they have been using that same narrator since the last election cycle. To think that I have to hear her voice again constantly brings chills down my spine…
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Oct 11, 17 @ 4:36 pm:
I’ve been seeing these ads from Rauner lately. It’s amusing to me to see him take credit for the education plan and yet he can’t seem to take the blame for anything. So, in his world, it’s not his fault . . . unless it’s something good.