Illinois

State issues affecting p–12 and/or higher education funding

The longest budget stalemate in the 50 states began in 2015 with the election of billionaire venture capitalist Bruce Rauner.¹ The first Republican Governor elected in over a decade was swept into office on a platform of tort reform, term limits, reduced business regulations, property tax freezes, worker’s compensation, consolidated government, reform collective bargaining rules and a pledge to take on Democrats who have a stronghold on control of the state legislature.² Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, whose tenure spans three decades, and the Super majority in both houses have fiercely opposed nearly all of Rauner’s agenda, resulting in a two-year budget impasse. Traditionally, government functions are impeded by the absence of budget priorities, however; court orders and other stopgap measures have minimized its impact on middle-class families. Nonetheless, the most vulnerable Illinois residents, those who need support from the state, were mostly placed at risk.³ By July of 2017, the state of Illinois accumulated $15 billion in past due payments, proposed eliminating the state lottery, and faced a further downgrade of its credit rating to junk bond status.⁴ On July 6, 2017, the Democratic-controlled legislature embraced a 32% tax increase and moved to override Governor Bruce Rauner’s budget veto to bring the 2-year budget impasse to an end. A year after the state impasse ended most social service agencies, especially the most adversely effected, are now just recovering from late payment penalties. In the 2018 election for Governor, Billionaire J.B. Pritzker is poised to run on a progressive agenda.

Changes to funding formula a for p–12 and/or higher education

Out of the budget impasse was the passage of SB 1947 and an evidence-based funding (EBF) model used to identify the dollars needed to apply research-based instructional strategies which impact student performance, given their individual differences. The EBF contains essentially four elements. First is the Adequacy Target which identifies the resources districts need to provide a high-quality education to its students, based on the actual per-pupil cost of providing a set of research-based interventions, or essential elements, proven to impact student learning. Second, the Local Capacity Target identifies a number of local dollars districts can contribute toward its Adequacy Target. To calculate this figure, the model examines district property to determine the amount it should be contributing to its individual Adequacy Target, and adjusts that based on what the district is actually collecting in taxes, called “real receipts.” Third, the Percent of Adequacy examines the district’s local capacity and its current state funding to determine how well-funded it is.

Lastly, the distribution of the funding places each district into one of four funding tiers based on the percentage of its Adequacy Target. For example, Tier 1 districts, the least well-funded, will receive the greatest amount (50%) of new state funding; Tier 2 districts, with an adequacy level below 90% (includes Tier 1 districts), will receive 49% of new state funding. Tier 3 districts, with an Adequacy Level between 90% and 100%, will receive .9% of new state dollars, and Tier 4 districts, with an Adequacy Level above 100%, will receive .1% of new state dollars. Moreover, SB 1947 allows residents in school districts with large cash reserves to reduce their property taxes through a referendum. Accordingly, 10 percent of the district’s registered voters would have to sign a petition for this to happen.

Effect on school district or higher education budgets

School districts have received 50% of their Tier funding and are now beginning to work with their local partners to learn how best to spend dollars to meet the needs of students in their learning communities. Nonetheless, Illinois school districts are experiencing record numbers in teacher shortages. Especially among bilingual, special education, math, and science teachers as well as school nurses and psychologists. For that reason, Illinois lawmakers adopted House Bill 5627 which permits retired teachers to assume classes on an as-needed basis, created a Short-Term Substitute Teaching License allowing persons who...