Suburban Legislators Successfully Kill Damaging School Funding Bill

With the adjournment “sine die” of the Illinois House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, a damaging rewrite of the school funding formula that sought to strip $140 million from DuPage County schools is dead.

“This is a huge success for the suburban taxpayers who would have been fleeced by the provisions of SB16,” said Representative Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), who led the opposition effort in the Western suburbs. “In the 81st Legislative District, where residents pay some of the highest tax bills in the state and country, our local schools were set to lose close to $20 million per year if this careless bill was passed.”

According to Sandack, widespread and vocal opposition by suburban taxpayers had an impact on committee members who gathered testimony on SB16 during the first week of Veto Session. During the joint hearing of the Elementary & Secondary Education and the Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education Committees, 32 different groups brought individuals forward to testify, and the vast majority of those who spoke said SB16 was not a good solution to Illinois’ school funding issues. In addition to the individuals who testified in person, the committee was flooded with online slips of opposition to the bill.

“Taxpayers are to be commended for engaging in the process and ensuring that their voices were heard on SB16,” said Sandack. “More than 7,000 opponent slips were filed with the committees and an additional 4,700 people signed an online petition against the bill. In my time in the General Assembly I have never seen that level of citizen participation in the process. In the end, the committee members could not ignore the substantial opposition to SB16.”

Sandack pointed out that while Speaker Madigan has officially closed the books on the 98th General Assembly, Governor Quinn always has the authority to bring legislators back to Springfield for a special session. He believes, however, that if legislators are called back to Springfield it will not be to consider the school funding issue due to the lack of movement on SB16 after the November hearing. “The people who stepped forward to help defeat SB16 should be proud of their efforts,” said Sandack. “This was a prime example of how people’s voices, when banded together, can make a real difference in policy decisions in Springfield.”

While Sandack is confident that SB16 is dead, he said it is likely that the topic of school funding reform will remain on the front burner in Springfield. “One good thing that occurred as a result of SB16 is that the issue of education funding equity and adequacy is being discussed in earnest,” Sandack said. “I would expect those conversations to continue during the 99th General Assembly, and that we will see some sort of new legislation presented. I fully support additional research into the root of the equity and adequacy problems, and look forward to working with my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to find a reasonable solution that is fair to all taxpayers and school children.”