* Senate President Don Harmon…
The people of Chicago deserve representation and accountability. The Illinois Senate is not going to consider an elected school board bill with woefully inadequate ethical provisions.
We are concerned with the failure to include strong ethical safeguards in the legislation the House approved.
For example, there is no prohibition on executives and employees of school district contractors and vendors being able to serve on the board.
The House legislation opens the door for corruption by exempting board members from the requirements under the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act.
A Chicago School Board must be held to the same ethical standards as every other school board in Illinois.
These are specific accountability protections the public requested during numerous Senate hearings. We also heard repeated testimony regarding the importance of electing all 20 board members next year, a provision the Senate supports and one that is lacking from the House version.
We are eager to work with the House on the shared goal of an elected representative school board but we will not accept watered down ethical provisions, and we believe the parents, families, students and taxpayers of Chicago deserve immediate representation.
Much progress has been made this week. I look forward to continuing discussions with our colleagues in the House to swiftly reach an agreement.
…Adding… Rep. Ann Williams, sponsor of HB4221, which is the House’s latest version of an elected school board bill…
The House and Senate are both working towards the same goal: a fully elected school board for Chicago Public Schools. While we may have suggested different paths to accomplish that goal, and these particular concerns from Senate President Harmon were never brought to our attention until tonight, I feel confident we can continue to work together to achieve a product that Chicago can be proud of.