* Roll call…
* The House Speaker’s “member management” worked. He gave his members a chance to blow off steam by voting against a bill that contained the private school scholarship tax credits, then gave them a shot at overriding SB1 and then, when it was clear there was no other alternative, passed the bill. The only alternative was to either wait until a true crisis built or re-worked the entire bill, which would have been a grueling task that would’ve likely hurt CPS.
I’ll post react as it comes in.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Speaker Madigan…
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Monday:
“Today we saw compromise. Instead of pitting children and communities against each other, Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement on much of what’s in this bill. And even where we don’t fully agree, we’re willing to work together in good faith and meet each other half way.
“This bill provides the same promise of permanent funding for our schools as Senate Bill 1, with some additional items included at the request of Republicans. Even if all members did not agree with 100 percent of what is in the final bill, this bill still delivers 100 percent of what schools throughout Illinois need. This bill is a permanent promise of more funding for schools statewide. Every district in Illinois wins under this plan.
“Through compromise, we’ve included some provisions that many members would not have supported on their own. But a package that permanently provides more money for Illinois schools and puts us closer than ever to fixing Illinois’ broken school funding system is too important to let partisan differences get in the way.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Mayor Emanuel…
“The Illinois House took a significant step tonight by passing an education funding plan that provides parity and stability for children across Illinois. I want to thank Speaker Madigan, Leader Durkin, Rep. Will Davis and the bipartisan group of legislators who put politics aside to address decades of inequity. As a new school year begins, students and educators deserve peace of mind. We are hopeful the Senate will take action and Governor Rauner will sign this historic legislation to support the education of children throughout Illinois.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Gov. Rauner thanks… Speaker Madigan? Yep…
“Today, members of the Illinois House of Representatives voted to bring historic education reform to Illinois children and their families. I want to thank Speaker Madigan, Leader Durkin and their staff members for finding common ground that will reverse the inequities of our current school funding system.
“Aligned with the framework provided by the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission – a bipartisan, bicameral working group chaired by the Secretary of Education – this bill has much to celebrate. First, every district in Illinois will have an adequacy target based on 27 elements brought forth through an “evidence-based model” of school funding. Second, new state funds will be distributed to ensure that those districts with the largest gap between current spending and adequacy will be funded first. Third, no district will lose state funding as compared to last year.
“The compromise includes the much-needed flexibility for school districts through mandate relief, while providing avenues for property tax relief. It increases transparency related to how districts are funded through local, state and federal resources.
“It protects the rights of parents to choose the school that best meets the needs of their children – providing more school choice for children from low-income families. By setting yearly minimum funding targets, this bill also ensures that Illinois will continue to invest in our most important resource – our children’s education.
“I encourage members of the Senate to also pass this bill, which I will sign quickly in order to ensure that our schools – many of which have already opened for the 2017-2018 school year – receive their much-needed resources.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** IFT…
Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery released the following statement after the House passed Senate Bill 1947:
“Tonight, state legislators moved Illinois closer to doing what we have needed to do for decades – treat our poorest students and communities fairly. Unfortunately, it came at a very disappointing cost. Governor Rauner capitalized on the crisis he created when he vetoed the original bill and used it as leverage for private school tax credits that benefit the wealthy while working families continue to struggle. We’re on a better path toward equity and adequacy, and we must move forward in our classrooms and communities. But it’s clearer than ever that this Governor does not prioritize public schools, and we must fight for one who does in 2018.”
* And the CTU…
*** UPDATE 5 *** Pritzker…
“I am relieved to know that our schools will be funded using an equitable school funding formula, but it is disappointing that Bruce Rauner used our students as pawns in his political games to get a back-door voucher program put in place,” said JB Pritzker. “As governor, I will not support school vouchers and will work to do away with this program.”
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* Roll call…
Both parties are now going to caucus.
…Adding… Democrats voting “No”…
Andrade, Arroyo, Beiser, Cassidy, Chapa Lavia, Conroy, Costello, Crespo, D’Amico, Deluca, Drury, Feigenholtz, Fine, Flowers, Ford, Gabel, Gordon-Booth, Greenwood, Guzzardi, Halpin, Harper, Hernandez, Hoffman, Hurley, Jones, Kifowit, Martwick, Mayfield, Mitchell, Moeller, Riley, Scherer, Slaughter, Stratton, Stuart, Turner, Wallace, Walsh, Welch, Williams, Willis, Yingling.
Lots of leaders, “regulars,” targets, liberals and Black Caucus members on that list.
* The Democrats only had 18 “Yes” votes…
D Burke, K Burke, Connor, Currie, Davis, Evans, Lang, Lilly, Manley, Moylan, Mussman, Nekritz, Phelps, Rita, Sente, Tabares, Zalewski, Mr. Speaker.
* 28 Republicans voted “Yes,” which is two shy of their target…
Andersson, Batinick, Bellock, Bennett, Bourne, Brady, Breen, Butler, Demmer, Durkin, Hammond, Hays, Jesiel, Jimenez, McAuliffe, Mitchell, Olsen, Pritchard, Reick, Reis, Sauer, Sommer, Sosnowski, Spain, Swanson, Unes, Wehrle, K Wheeler.
…Adding… As noted in comments, it is a little “weird” that the bill didn’t receive 47 votes, which would have allowed the sponsor to place the bill on the order of Postponed Consideration. It fell just one shy of that mark, which is, of course, raising some eyebrows that *somebody* might not have wanted this to pass right now.
*** UPDATE 1 *** If you look at the rollcall just before they locked it down, GOP Rep. Randy Frese and Democratic Rep. Art Turner switched their votes from “Yes” to “No” at the last second. Click here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** A new vehicle bill was just moved out of the Rules Committee. Amendment 1 to SB444 is apparently identical to the bill which just went down.
The game plan, I’m told, is to allow an override vote on SB1 to placate Madigan’s more liberal members. If that override fails, as expected, they’ll take up the new amendment and try again.
*** UPDATE 3 *** As expected the override fails…
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* And, yet, the Chicago Teachers Union and some Chicago Democrats want to kill this deal…
School board President Frank Clark said on Monday that Chicago Public Schools may see as much as $450 million from a pending state accord on education funding, about $150 million more than the district had anticipated.
Clark used the figure to address criticism from the Chicago Teachers Union over a possible tax credit program for private school scholarships. His comments came as the school board was set to vote on a proposed $5.7 billion operating budget. […]
“I cannot, in my own mind, balance $75 million [for the private school scholarship tax credit program] against $450 million that CPS would benefit from,” Clark said to [CTU Vice-President Jesse Sharkey]. “Whether I agree or disagree on the vouchers, you guys are doing an excellent job of lobbying against that component. But frankly, it puts the whole deal in jeopardy. That’s your right, you may feel in fact it’s your obligation. But when I balance $450 million versus $75 million … I land on the side of the $450 million that goes to the Chicago Public Schools.”
A district spokeswoman did not directly respond to the $450 million figure touted by Clark and said CPS would need to wait for a final analysis from the Illinois State Board of Education to make a calculation on the amount it might get from the state.
* Meanwhile, some Chicago House Democrats remained in the room after their party caucus ended to talk with Speaker Madigan about the deal. Madigan is expected to address the media, so keep an eye on our live coverage post.
*** UPDATE *** And away we go…
This might take another day. Then again, they might not be running this if they didn’t have the votes. We’ll see soon enough.
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Fine, but then what?
Monday, Aug 28, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Chicago Teachers Union…
The CTU is also condemning a legislative deal that Emanuel has embraced—and the Board of Education has done nothing to oppose—which opens the door to school vouchers, a move that is expected to put roughly $75 million in public dollars into the coffers of private schools and provide hefty tax breaks for the wealthy. The union argues that the voucher “compromise” in SB1—modeled on the extremist privatization policies of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos—is tantamount to planting a ticking time bomb on a bus and driving through school districts throughout the state, creating even greater debt and fiscal distress.
“The mayor’s failure to responsibly budget for our schools has set the stage for him to cut a deal with the governor to implement some kind of state-run ‘school finance authority’,” CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said. “This allows him to wash his hands of our schools while avoiding taxing his wealthy friends—many of whom are among his biggest campaign donors.”
“This false choice of a voucher ‘compromise’ for SB1, without public debate, will undermine the core promise of quality public education for all students—low income students, in particular—and give more hefty tax breaks to the rich, Sharkey added. “Legislators should reject this scheme and vote for a straight override of the governor’s veto of SB1.”
* Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago)…
This scheme is a major legislative priority of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council, an ultra-conservative legislative think tank) and US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. In some cases, like Georgia, it allows donors to profit from their “donations” by getting multiple tax breaks at the state and federal levels.
We must pass a school funding reform bill to ensure that schools statewide receive the money they need to successfully educate our children. I can’t, however, compromise on my long-held opposition to vouchers and other mechanisms to strip support from our neighborhood schools.
I want a clean school-funding bill, one that doesn’t compromise the well-being of the students in the most vulnerable schools that have seen the greatest cuts at both the local and state level. And once again, they are being used as hostages. We are being asked to rubber stamp this last-minute, unreviewed scheme because it is those students at the highest need schools that require state aid the soonest.
OK, first of all, ALEC is also heavily involved in criminal justice reform, so not everything they do is horrific to liberals. And this plan isn’t like Georgia’s in that it doesn’t allow for a federal tax break.
Second, these aren’t vouchers. And they’re not stripping support from anybody. The tax credits are being paid out of GRF. Now, I have no idea where they’re going to find the money, but the school budget is already set in stone. Also, the hold-harmless provision in the new bill is not based on per pupil, so schools that lose students to private schools won’t be penalized.
And, finally, what happens when SB1 isn’t overridden? Do we all just wait for yet another meltdown crisis? And does the CTU or any of the Chicago legislators opposing this deal really believe that Chicago will get the same deal that it’s getting now if the CTU and Chicago legislators manage to kill this deal over a $75 million pilot project?
…Adding… The deal doesn’t just magically get better for CPS if Chicagoans kill it. Also, lots of liberals applauded Republicans last month for swallowing hard and voting for a tax hike and a budget that would almost assuredly cause them electoral grief…
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* Tribune…
With legislative leaders still working on the finer points of a plan to send money to public schools, their efforts risked being derailed amid ongoing rancor between Gov. Bruce Rauner and Mayor Rahm Emanuel as well as pressure from unions. […]
Even before the accord was announced, Emanuel poked Rauner over his decision to shed his new press staff just weeks after bringing them on amid a massive staff shakeup in the governor’s office.
“I kind of think some guy that’s talked about running on a ‘turnaround agenda,’ it’s becoming quite apparent that it’s a ‘turnover agenda,’” Emanuel said, mocking the tagline Rauner had given to his pro-business wish list.
* Press release…
Today, as the Illinois House of Representatives considers revisions to Senate Bill 1, Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery released the following statement:
“We were happy to support Senate Bill 1 as originally passed. For the first time in a generation, it creates an opportunity to fund schools more equitably and adequately by considering regional circumstances and ensuring that no district loses a dollar. But as he did with the bipartisan budget, Governor Rauner vetoed the legislation and is holding our kids’ education hostage to his political demands.
The Governor’s priority is not fair and equitable funding for all of Illinois’ students. This was clear in the 120 changes he made when he vetoed SB1, and it’s clear now in his last-ditch effort to use our students as leverage for private school tax credits.
Taxpayer dollars should be invested in our public school classrooms, plain and simple. The Governor’s proposal gives the wealthy another break while robbing our public schools of students and dollars.
We encourage lawmakers to reject this. Override Governor Rauner’s veto and pass Senate Bill 1 as written. Vouchers should not be the price of progress.”
I’ve asked the IFT if it is willing to allow schools to shut down over this beef with the tax credit proposal. I’ll let you know what they say.
…Adding… From the IFT…
Of course we do not want schools to shut down. That was the Governor’s desire when he completely rewrote SB1 in his AV. Legislators can simply override the veto. (And aside from what private school tax credits do to undermine public school funding, is now really the right budgetary time to do this?)
They can’t “simply override the veto,” but whatever.
* Meanwhile, the CEO of the state’s second largest school district (Elgin) was bad-mouthing the compromise plan and demanding an override of SB1 on Twitter yesterday, so I asked him some questions…
That’s a lot of dancing.
…Adding… Never bet against the leaders when they’re all pulling in the same direction. If that is truly the case here, then everyone should probably calm down a bit…
…Adding More… This is the standard partisan split on structured roll calls. It’s based on the percentage each party has in the chamber. The object is to meet these minimum targets…
* Related…
* What’s going on with Illinois school funding? Here’s a Q and A: What’s with the $75 million in school vouchers? First, they’re not vouchers, which would be public money or tax credits provided directly to families paying tuition. What’s been proposed are tax credits for anyone who donates to organizations that would create scholarship funds for low- and mid-income students attending private schools. At least for the next five years — when the measure will sunset — donors will get a credit for 75 cents on every dollar they give. Though it’s not yet clear how any of that will happen.
* Legislative Leaders Inch Toward School Funding Deal: “It’s time for everyone, if they have minor objections, look at the goal. Who gets hurt? No one gets hurt, everyone succeeds under this. Every student in Illinois is going to be a beneficiary of what we have to come to a conclusion in,” Durkin said.
* GOP leaders: School funding reform plan still on track
* IL Lawmakers Working To Hammer Out Details On School Funding
* Rep. David McSweeney Says The New School Funding Plan May Cause More Harm Than Good
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Leaders’ meeting updates
Sunday, Aug 27, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
[Comments are now open on this post.]
* 4:44 pm - Just after 4:30 this afternoon, the two Republican legislative leaders talked briefly to reporters about the education funding reform negotiations before walking into Speaker Madigan’s office.
After Friday’s curious comments from Gov. Bruce Rauner about how the Democrats had inserted “bad things” into the proposal, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin assured the media that the governor “is 100 percent behind it.” Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady chimed in by saying “The governor will sign this.”
Leader Durkin also acknowledged that there was some pushback within his caucus, but said it wasn’t any different than any other major issue he’s ever worked on.
When asked “And you’re not concerned that it’s falling apart?” Leader Brady said “Not at all.”
*** UPDATE *** Notes from when Leaders Brady and Durkin emerged from the meeting around 6:50…
Brady: We just left another successful meeting… We made some great progress on some outstanding issues, mostly technical nature. We still have a deal that we hope to present to the House tomorrow… Another meeting tomorrow morning.
Durkin: It’s a 500-page document. Goal was to tie up loose ends. We’re down to the minutiae.
Q: And you’re confident you have the votes to pass it?
Durkin: I can’t speak for Mr. Madigan, but our caucus is prepared to take the votes.
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[Comments are now open on this post.]
* Forwarded by the House Democrats…
Sent on behalf of the Clerk of the House
Members of the 100th General Assembly:
The President and Speaker have declared an emergency exists which requires immediate action by the General Assembly. Pursuant to Article IV, Section 5(b) of the Illinois Constitution, and in conformity with the Special Session Act, an emergency Special Session of the 100th General Assembly shall convene at 11:00 a.m. on August 28, 2017, at the State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois.
The purpose of the Special Session shall be to consider legislation and legislative actions that would establish, by law, an evidenced-based funding formula to provide State funding to school districts.
* The governor has vetoed several pieces of legislation, so there was a lot of speculation that coming back to deal with school funding reform would trigger the 15-calendar-day clock for dealing with overrides…
A side effect of the legislature constantly coming back into session to fix things that should have been fixed long ago is what’s going to happen during the veto session.
With the rules governing how vetoes and amendatory vetoes must be handled in the legislature, it’s possible that first one chamber and then the other will be forced back to Springfield over the coming weeks to deal with vetoed bills. Depending on how things played out, they could seesaw back and forth for a while. Basically, they could mostly be done with the vetoes before we hit the time of the traditional veto session.
Interestingly, there is nothing on the General Assembly’s schedule for a fall session at this time.
But I asked Senate President Cullerton’s spokesman today if the emergency special session would avoid triggering the veto clock. “Yes,” was his reply.
* Meanwhile, the four tops are scheduled to meet again today at 4:30 in Springfield. I’ll let you know what happens.
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