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Lawsuit calls 1992 Illinois minority teacher scholarship program ‘un-American and unconstitutional’

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Illinois

A group affiliated with the legal activist behind the successful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to affirmative action in college admissions has sued Illinois over a minority scholarship program for aspiring teachers.

The American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by lawyer Edward Blum, has sued Gov. JB Pritzker and Kevin Huber, chairman of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, over the 32-year-old Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program, which awards as much as $7,500 to qualified minority applicants.

* From the lawsuit…

(T)he Scholarship Program imposes an explicit racial barrier: it is only for students who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Students of any other race are excluded.

Such blatant race-based discrimination against individuals who could otherwise contribute to a robust teacher pipeline in Illinois serves no compelling government purpose. It is demeaning, patronizing, un-American, and unconstitutional.

Plaintiff American Alliance for Equal Rights (Alliance) is a nationwide membership organization that is dedicated to eliminating racial distinctions and preferences in America. It has members who are qualified, ready, willing, and able to apply to the Scholarship Program, including Member A: a resident of Illinois and high school senior who plans to become a teacher and who meets each of the eligibility requirements for the Scholarship Program except she is not from a preferred race. Member A would apply to the Scholarship Program by the 2025-2026 academic year deadline of March 31, 2025, but cannot because her race makes her ineligible.

* Back to Crain’s…

Another group founded by Blum, Students for Fair Admissions, was at the center of the legal challenges to race-based admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. The Supreme Court in 2022 struck down both programs and largely invalidated the consideration of race as it had been practiced in admissions for more than 50 years. […]

Some legal scholars believe the logic of the Supreme Court’s admissions decision would extend to minority scholarship programs, and some states have moved to end them or open them to all regardless of race.

* Lawsuit…

Plaintiff respectfully requests the following relief.

1. A declaration that the racial exclusion in 110 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 947/50 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

2. A permanent prohibitory injunction forbidding the Governor and his agents from enforcing, or attempting to enforce, the racial exclusion in 110 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 947/50;

3. An award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses in this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988; and

4. Such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.

* The 14th Amendment was passed after the Civil War and was intended to protect the rights of former slaves and rein in the former Confederate states. From the Library of Congress…

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person “life, liberty or property, without due process of law” or to “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment.

* More background…

Edward Blum’s crusade against affirmative action used legal strategy of civil rights activists

* SCOTUS was just denied a chance to eliminate ‘race-based funding’ — and ending affirmative action in college admissions had everything to do with it: A venture capital firm founded by Black women kept a case away from the U.S. Supreme Court that could have ended race-based entrepreneurial funding nationwide. The Atlanta-based Fearless Fund settled a lawsuit Wednesday with the American Alliance for Equal Rights — the same conservative advocacy group responsible for bringing the case that ended affirmative action programs in college admissions. Conservative activist Edward Blum, founder of the Alliance, brought a legal challenge against the Fearless Fund, an entrepreneurship funding competition open only to businesses owned by Black women. The program offered $20,000 to each of four winners in an effort to help Black women build growth within the venture capital industry. To be eligible, a business must be at least 50% owned by Black women.

* Founder of grant program slams federal appeals court for eliminating funding for Black women’s businesses: U.S. Circuit Judge Robin Stacie Rosenbaum, a Barack Obama appointee, began a lengthy dissent with a soccer analogy in which she likened the unnamed plaintiffs’ case to faking an injury by “flopping on the field”: “No one doubts the sincerity of an Arsenal (soccer) player’s desire to beat Tottenham. But he can’t be allowed to try to win by flopping on the field, faking an injury near Tottenham’s goal. For those not in the know, the object of flopping is to manufacture a foul that the player hasn’t actually experienced to manipulate the referee into inappropriately exercising his power to award a penalty kick in the box, where it’s likely to result in a goal. Referees’ vigilance prevents players who have a sincere desire to defeat their opponents — but who try to do so through manufactured fouls — from commandeering referees to improperly exercise their adjudicatory authority to award unwarranted penalty kicks.”

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 12:27 pm

Comments

The 14th Amendment, the only amendment for which conservatives legalistas believe the framers intent doesn’t matter.

Comment by Google Is Your Friend Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 12:38 pm
I abhor these “we want to take away what they have” people. At WIU, we were recently threatened because a Black professor, who created the African American Studies program, retired and left a scholarship funded by her own efforts, that prioritized needy African American students who choose to major in African American studies. Apparently, white people do not want black people to have access, even though white children have more access than black children have, already, as measured by the number of scholarship dollars and scholarships allocated to white children, and as measured by household income (the average Black family in America today has half the income that the average White family has in American today).

That this effort is widespread in the current era and an organized effort across many organizations speaks directly to the content of character of Americans writ large.

Comment by H-W Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:10 pm
Let’s just cancel all scholarship programs… there will certainly be more white kids affected than minority kids. The inequity exists historically and remains in the system. Undoing affirmative action harms our country, while those doing it have benefited for years from white privilege. I’m tired of it, and in case you’re wondering, I’m a middle-aged, senior white guy who did just fine competing in a world where affirmative programs existed and helped address inherent inequity.

Comment by Lincoln Lad Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:12 pm
@LincolnLad - There are ways to structure these scholarships so that the end result is largely the same. There can be restricted to zip codes, have stricter needs-based requirements, or include essays.

Comment by Chicagonk Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:22 pm
If this was the only scholarship Illinois offered then I guess I could agree with them but there are many scholarships offered that are limited to certain criteria, none of which have to do with race. So I guess they are cool with scholarships limited to, say, kids of fallen firefighters even though that’s restricted.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:35 pm
“Member A” also probably could cover the cost of the program through other sources and likely has no designs on teaching in a location that heavily serves minority students.

Comment by Graduated College Student Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:44 pm
The teaching commitment for the scholarship states “no less than 30 percent of the enrolled students are African American/Black, Asian American, Hispanic American, or Native American.”

In other words, many rural white school districts, who already have issues attracting teachers, are ineligible.

Comment by City Zen Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:46 pm
==In other words, many rural white school districts, who already have issues attracting teachers, are ineligible.==

So? There are other scholarship programs out there. If you want to support a bunch of racists though be my guest.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:49 pm
= kids of fallen firefighters even though that’s restricted=

Many of those are offered by private philanthropic groups or industry-affiliated associations. The scholarship in question here is state government-sponsored or funded.

Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 1:57 pm
===Many of those are offered by private philanthropic groups or industry-affiliated associations===

Fearless Fund was a private sector initiative.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 2:24 pm
=The 14th Amendment, the only amendment for which conservatives legalistas believe the framers intent doesn’t matter.=

Just as a matter of history fcat and timeline, the 14th amendment was passed long after the framers of the constitution were part of the process and most were dead by that time. Still, your point is correct.

As a kid I thought race and gender based programs and scholarships were wrong, then I grew up.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 2:28 pm
There are scholarships that one must be Italian, or Polish, etc. I see no problem with those plus the minority scholarships in question. BTW - in my 1970s DePaul University education, I took Afro-American history classes that were really well taught. Guess I was lucky that my Polish & Slovenian parents taught me to appreciate other cultures.

Comment by Interim Retiree Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 2:37 pm
Conservatives love putting words into the 14th amendment when THEY get to be the ones doing it. When other people try to suss out what rights are included therein, well they’re SOL.

Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 2:40 pm
I’d like my country back, who do I see/sue about that?

Comment by Lincoln Lad Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 2:48 pm
==Many of those==

Notice you said “many” and not all. Some people seem to be ok with certain directed scholarships. It’s just the racists who have an issue with the scholarships they are challenging here.

Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 2:58 pm
Just watched a group of local high school parents learn that boys have been getting preference in university admissions for YEARS and that their sons might be losing their affirmative action programs and I have to admit it was a little hilarious.

Comment by Suburban Mom Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 4:17 pm
From a state perspective laws should never treat any race different.

But individuals that set up a scholarship for a specific group… I want to support the idea.
“Hey I cam from X, and want to leave something behind for other kids from X”

I like it.

I also just think the state (other than collecting the money to pay for the education) should be out of race all together.

Comment by Ron - In Texas Wednesday, Oct 23, 24 @ 5:13 pm