Plan To Re-Allocate State School Funding Dead For Now

John Gregory -- Illinois Radio Network

It’s back to the drawing board on changing Illinois’ education funding formula.

That outcome pleases Republican lawmakers in districts in the Chicago suburbs, such as State Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), as the proposed changes to the formula would have resulted in school districts in those areas receiving less state aid thanks to collecting more in property taxes.

Sandack says Downstate Republican legislators may have voted for the bill if it had ever put to a vote in the Illinois House.

“They kept a low profile, though,” Sandack said. “They weren’t running around saying ‘this is a good way to do things.’ If a vote would’ve come, they would’ve made a vote in favor of (S.B.) 16, but they didn’t like the way this was coming down. It wasn’t their bill. It wasn’t their preference.”

Sandack believes there is a compromise to be found that wouldn’t benefit Downstate schools at the expense of those in Chicago or the suburbs. The first step, according to Sandack, is to find a way to fully fund state aid to schools. After that, he thinks legislators should form a committee on education funding, and look into consolidating school districts.