January 16, 2018
Chicago Tribune
Lawmakers, don’t punish these students
Illinois’ new program to help thousands of students snare tuition scholarships for private schools is off to a terrific start. Individual and corporate donors already have pledged about $40 million to help low- and moderate-income students gain a better education.
We strongly supported this program as part of a sweeping Illinois school funding overhaul designed to send more money to poor and needy schools.
Here’s the snag: The law says that schools must be “recognized” by the Illinois State Board of Education to participate in the scholarship program. That means a school’s educational program has been approved by ISBE and meets minimum state academic requirements.
But many private schools haven’t sought ISBE recognition because it isn’t mandatory. Now, though, they need it so they can raise donations and make scholarships available to their students. But the process can take at least a year. Result: Dozens of Catholic and independent schools were blindsided by the requirement and now complain that they’ll be shut out under the current law.
Here’s where it gets complicated. Earlier this month, Gov. Bruce Rauner tried to accommodate those schools by tacking an amendatory veto onto another bill. The bill makes technical changes that would allow the state to go forward with the new public school funding formula. Without those changes, 178 school districts would not receive $37.8 million in promised funding, ISBE says. Chicago Public Schools may lose about $44 million.
“This is about delay, delay, delay on something that took 30 years to pass,” Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar, one of the sponsors of the legislation that created the new formula, tells us. “I don’t care about the politics. I want the schools to realize the promise they were given when the governor signed (the overhaul bill) into law. . Because of this veto, that is now going to take much longer than it otherwise would have.”
Here’s the outlook: Lawmakers must deal with Rauner’s changes to the trailer bill before the new formula can be fully implemented. They can accept the governor’s changes or override them, or pass a new bill; if they choose not to consider the current bill, the legislation will die. And, presumably, those 178 public districts will not receive all the promised funding.
All of this will be on the agenda when the Hatfields and McCoys begin a new legislative session later this month. So what to do? Focus on priorities: This should be about lower-income students getting the best education possible. Not political brinkmanship in an election season.
We have no problem with expanding the eligibility rules or extending the deadline so schools that were caught short can get up to speed. It would be unconscionable, however, if this relatively small issue ties up millions of dollars to be divvied under the new funding formula.
Gov. Rauner, lawmakers, make sure the scholarship program works for all students. Democratic state Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago largely agrees with Rauner and is working to make the changes Rauner seeks. “A number of African-American schools have been shut out unfairly,” he tells us. “The tax credit was built on helping poor people, and we should make sure no one is left out.” We second that.
In a state with leaders focused on what’s best for children, this would be an easy fix. In Illinois . ?
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January 13, 2018
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register
Trump’s divisive comments have no place in America
Thursday was not the first time President Donald Trump has reportedly uttered revolting words. It’s not going to be the last. And he’s likely always going to have some supporters who cheer him on because he “tells it like it is.”
But even they should be ashamed of what multiple people allege Trump said Thursday during a meeting in the Oval Office about immigration. He asked why the U.S. would want more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than from places like Norway. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, was at the meeting and said that was “the exact word used by the president not just once but repeatedly” to describe African nations. When the question was asked about Haitians, Durbin said the president said “Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?”
It is unconscionable for the president of the United States to denigrate an entire ethnicity. Americans expect our president to be dignified and compassionate to people of all races, ethnicities and nationalities. Trump’s insensitive, divisive comments not just Thursday, but throughout his campaign and first year in office, have shown he is not.
Trump tweeted that the language used during the meeting was “tough,” but “this was not the language used.” He also tweeted that he “Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said ’take them out.’” But neither the president or the White House are disputing the most controversial of his remarks, that he used the word “shithole” to describe African nations.
It is wrong to blanketly condemn people based solely on their ethnicity or national origin. None of us would want to be judged on just one aspect of our lives, whether that be ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexuality, race or profession. What we do with our lives, and what we contribute to the world, is what we should be judged on.
The same holds true for potential immigrants. What matters is their work ethic, their merit, their odds for success and why they want to come. Obviously we can’t welcome everyone. Rules and regulations about how many immigrants should be allowed and what path they need to follow to come here legally must be in place and enforced. And that is what makes Trump’s comments so devastating. His inflammatory rhetoric has now detracted from the progress that until yesterday was happening regarding the need to craft sensible immigration reform.
Earlier Thursday, six senators, including Durbin, said they had reached a bipartisan agreement on immigration in principle that “addresses border security, the diversity visa lottery, chain migration/family reunification, and the Dream Act - the areas outlined by the president,” according to a news release from Durbin’s office. “We are now working to build support for that deal in Congress.”
Trump’s comments have created a murky uncertainty for that agreement, as Durbin said Friday that “my thought that we might get a bipartisan agreement approved by the White House died yesterday.” Members of Congress cannot give up on finding a compromise on this issue, and we ask them to persevere and enact immigration reform.
Trump’s words Thursday demean what it means to be an American. The United States is a destination for many immigrants because they yearn to be part of a country that celebrates being founded and built by immigrants. They want to achieve the promise and potential this country has always offered to anyone willing to work hard. The day we stop being that is the day America ceases to be the beacon of hope it has always been.
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January 14, 2018
Belleville News-Democrat
Illinois property taxes rise six times faster than income during recession
Two recent studies said property taxes weren’t really so bad in Illinois.
Bet your experience is very different.
Now another study using data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey is telling us that, yes, property taxes are high here - but that’s not the worst part.
Between 2008 and 2015 during the Great Recession, property taxes grew six times faster than household incomes in Illinois, according to research by Orphe Divounguy, the Illinois Policy Institute’s chief economist.
“The real property tax burden - property taxes as a share of income - shows just how far Illinois families have to stretch their budgets,” Divounguy said. “We have seen that burden grow almost 40 percent between 2008 and 2015.”
The burden grew 40 percent during the recession as household incomes grew just 7 percent during those seven years.
Think rich counties around Chicago are driving those numbers?
Well, the average property tax bill in St. Clair County doubled between 2000 and 2015, from $1,030 to $2,051. Madison County wasn’t quite as bad, growing 82 percent from $1,344 to $2,442. The state average was a 93 percent change during those 15 years.
New Jersey is the only state that puts more of its household income toward property taxes. Just how attractive does that make Illinois to those buying a home?
Property tax caps, government consolidation and a functioning state government would all go a long way toward fixing the problem. Trouble is, it doesn’t seem like anyone in Springfield is even having this conversation and when locals have the conversation it is usually about raising property taxes even more.
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