An oft-repeated $1.1 billion demand from Chicago’s mayor would actually wind up costing state taxpayers $5.5 billion. And Gov. JB Pritzker is turning a big thumbs down.
Chicago Public Schools made the huge mistake of putting a ton of temporary federal pandemic aid into its permanent spending base for years and that money is just about gone. It also recently over-estimated some state tax revenues. Mayor Brandon Johnson also dumped $170 million in pension costs onto the district from his own budget, and the Chicago Teachers Union is asking for the moon in its contract negotiations. The end result is deficits as far as the eye can see.
Johnson has suggested CPS borrow money in the interim, but he has said over and over again that the state “owes” CPS $1.1 billion and he wants the state to pony up.
But does the state really owe CPS that much money? “No” is the simple answer.
First, a quick primer. The state’s Evidence-Based Funding law was passed in 2017 after years of work. The idea of EBF was to move to a system based on “adequate” state and local funding levels. A lot of factors determine adequacy, like regional salaries, how much districts spend, how much they have the capacity to spend, the types of district students (with an emphasis on low income, English learners, special education), and more.
The legislation was designed to help districts eventually reach 90 percent of adequate funding. This fiscal year, the state will spend $8.6 billion on evidence-based funding. Negotiators realized from the beginning that the state didn’t have enough money to fund every school at 90 percent adequacy right away, so it’s been spending $350 million more each year (except Fiscal Year 21) in order to reach the eventual target where all districts have 90 percent adequacy. $50 million of that goes to property tax relief grants.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, if the state had decided last fiscal year to just all of a sudden abandon the funding “ramp” and immediately reach 90 percent adequacy, the total state cost would’ve been $2.5 billion.
Of that $2.5 billion, the ISBE says, Chicago would’ve received $503 million, less than half the $1.1 billion that Mayor Johnson claims the state owes.
So, where does the $1.1 billion number come from? According to the state board, that amount would’ve been owed to Chicago last fiscal year if the state immediately funded schools at 100 percent of their adequacy levels. However, the board points out that 100 percent funding is not in state law, despite what the mayor is saying.
Johnson has always said that all Illinois schools should get what’s coming to them right away, not just Chicago. But EBF funding for all public schools at 100 percent last fiscal year would’ve cost taxpayers a whopping $4.85 billion, according to the State Board of Education.
But wait, there’s more. Mayor Johnson’s spokesperson released a statement to me saying in part: “(T)he State of Illinois provides all other school districts with nearly $3,000 more per student by fully paying their teacher pensions,” and went on to say they would work with the state to make that happen.
That’s about $969 million. Take out what the state already gives CPS for teacher pensions and you wind up with a tab of $615 million.
Add now you’re at $5.47 billion.
The mayor hasn’t mentioned that state law gives Chicago a special pension carveout. The Chicago school district’s ability to pay (known as the “local capacity target”) portion of the formula is reduced by whatever CPS spends on teacher pensions. This reduces the city’s amount that it has to pay for its own schools. Last fiscal year, CPS was given a nearly $700 million reduction in its local capacity target.
Gov. Pritzker told me this past Friday that, despite all the public rhetoric, Mayor Johnson has never once personally asked him to help fund that $1.1 billion.
I told Pritzker that I assumed other school districts also put temporary federal money into their permanent spending bases and would also be demanding more state aide. “I don’t think that that’s the job of Springfield, to rescue the school districts that might have been irresponsible with the one-time money they received.”
“Poor fiscal management on the part of a local government is not necessarily the responsibility of Springfield,” he added.
Is CPS poorly fiscally managed? Pritzker at first hedged, then, when pressed, said he’d like to answer the question his own way.
“One-time money shouldn’t be spent for ongoing operations.”
- Pawar Lost - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 7:52 am:
Smart move by Pritzker. So now Mayor Photo Op has to either raise taxes or cut CPS.
- Frida’s boss - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 7:59 am:
The Mayor not working with others and issuing random statements continues. He should’ve known this in February and started working on it then but that would’ve been too obvious.
- Long Time Independent - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 8:53 am:
No wonder he jumped on the Harris bandwagon immediately. That just shows how incompetent Johnson is. He did that out of spite now moving forward he can see first hand how that’s going to work out.
- Alton Sinkhole - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 8:54 am:
Does Brandon know how to do anything except ask for state money?
- Demoralized - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 8:54 am:
In what world does Mayor Johnson believe it is a good idea to say that the state isn’t doing it’s job in funding CPS and then demanding that the state pony up some money? He’s winning absolutely no friends at the state level by saying they are “owed” money. He’s been told to go pound sand and rightfully so.
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 9:07 am:
=“(T)he State of Illinois provides all other school districts with nearly $3,000 more per student by fully paying their teacher pensions,” and went on to say they would work with the state to make that happen.=
Wait. What?
I seem to remember the state trying to integrate CTPF into the state pension system for years and CTPF/CPS refusing.
Am I misremembering?
- OneMan - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 9:12 am:
I wonder how “Should the state give the Bears and White Sox 5.5 billion dollars for new stadiums or give it to CPS to cover a shortfall that will likely then be around next year” would poll.
- low level - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 9:22 am:
==He’s winning absolutely no friends at the state level by saying they are “owed” money. He’s been told to go pound sand and rightfully so.==.
Your entire statement is spot on. Johnson’s constant “The state owes us $1B” is not winning him any friends in Springfield. He is coming off like an entitled teenager. The incompetence is incredible.
I really thought he’d be better at this given his background but instead he is making Lightfoot look like a statesman.
- Frida's boss - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 9:42 am:
@Oneman - love to see that poll.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 10:13 am:
====@Oneman - love to see that poll.====
The predictable response would be “no” and “no”.
- frustrated GOP - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 10:45 am:
One, CPS needs to increase their property taxes, they are lower than many other school districts, every mayor has made sure they keep a tax levy low. Two, CPS has schools with such low enrollment no other school district could keep those open with those low enrollments. Three, CPS already has a thumb on the scales in how they are funded by the State, they get a higher funding level than any other district does with the same format. Maybe its time to reduce staffing, close some buildings and act like the rest of the world instead of asking for the rest of us to cover your bills.
Yes, so goes Chicago, so goes the State, but someone needs to start to really do some adjustment to CPS spending, and yes, maybe CTU doesn’t get quite the raise they think they should get. I am guessing they’re scale is above most other Districts.
- Central IL - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 11:05 am:
It’s actually very funny that Pritzker wants to Chicago raise taxes before the state.
- Back to the Future - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 11:07 am:
Hat top to the Sun Times for the column on education. It is a very important topic that often gets lost in news from Springfield.
The current test scores going back 6 years indicate Illinois really has a serious problem in providing our children and grandchildren an adequate education.
Perhaps a change at the top will improve the chances our kids will have to succeed in the future.
As to residents of Chicago having to pay for our local pension system plus the pension system covering the Suburban and Downstate teachers, this has been an issue for a very long time. The legislature kicked around the idea of passing the cost for the Downstate pension system to people who set the salaries and benefits for those teachers about 10 years ago and not pass those costs on folks in Chicago who have to pay for it’s own teacher retirement system. That idea did not go anywhere, but perhaps it is time to make that change.
- jimbo - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 12:09 pm:
~~The current test scores going back 6 years indicate Illinois really has a serious problem in providing our children and grandchildren an adequate education.~~
Except that our test score requirements are more difficult than other states which makes them look better in comparison
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 12:11 pm:
What jimbo said. The obfuscation on this topic is ridiculous.
- RNUG - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 12:15 pm:
== folks in Chicago who have to pay for it’s own teacher retirement system. ==
Chicago asked for and got control of their own teachers pension system … plus extra money because of it. They, arguably, did a worse job that the State did funding said pension system. The State isn’t going to bail them out without major reforms that CTS does not want.
- RNUG - Monday, Jul 22, 24 @ 12:20 pm:
== What jimbo said. The obfuscation on this topic is ridiculous. ==
Yes, different tests, different standards so hard to compare. But there is still a problem teaching the basics to a significant portion of the kids.
Lots of places to point fingers on that. You can pick your favorite reason, but a lot of it comes back to uninvolved parents … and some portion of that is basic economics and some of it is just institutional as a result of the poor education the parent(s) received from the same system.