Progress Illinois

On WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability executive director Ralph Martire discussed the school funding crisis in Illinois and expressed his support for State Sen. James Meeks' effort to highlight the issue.  "We've got to get people as outraged about the fact that for decades we haven't given children an adequate education in our state," he said.  "And when they get the same fervor and outrage over that that they have over this silly day of missed school, maybe we'll make a change."

Talking about the tax code's effect on the state's fiscal situation, Martire also pointed out that "Illinois has got a $600 billion economy -- $600 billion.  The cost of the tax increase needed to fix our problems would be about $6 billion.  That's one percent of our economy."  Watch it:

For more on the education funding issue, check out Will Burns' column from last week.

There was both good news and bad news on the education front yesterday. While Illinois students’ scores on ACT college entrance exam inched upward this year -- to the highest level since the state began requiring the test -- the gap between black and white high schoolers’ scores grew steadily as well:

An improvement in white students’ performances mostly fueled the gains in the 2008 scores, and the disparity between black and white students’ scores continued to widen, the report said. White students who graduated this spring scored 5.2 points higher on average than their peer black students. That’s up from a low spread of 4.5 points in 2003. [...]

“We know high schools are struggling with that issue,” [State School Superintendent Christopher Koch] said, adding that Illinois is working on it by requiring summer school and pre-testing before some students enter high school.

The report is perfect fodder for the education reform debate fermenting in Illinois. Critics like State Sen. James Meeks have lamented our state's reliance on local property taxes to fund education -- a system that creates a disparity between the funds available to property-poor school districts and wealthy ones. In a recent column here at Progress Illinois, Illinois state rep candidate Will Burns pointed to Michigan's 1994 education funding overhaul as evidence that a centralization of funding (the Wolverine State pays 57.3 percent of the total education costs) can save taxpayers money and improve education equity.

Is Michigan's plan perfect? Not in the least. On his Daily Herald blog yesterday, John Patterson reprinted his own 2005 story pointing out some of the reforms' shortfalls.

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In an editorial today, the Tribune questions the tactics behind State Sen. James Meeks' proposed New Trier protest, while ultimately applauding his "unwillingness to let Chicago students languish for yet another school year in public schools that we've long argued are short on resources and on accountability for the money they do receive." But the Tribune's dig at teachers unions deserve some pushback. Here's the conclusion of today's editorial:

So you have a choice. You can echo the teachers unions and chant "More money for education," which likely will result in another year without funding reform. Or you can challenge the education establishment to deliver more accountability in return for a jump in the $20 billion it already consumes.

We can't guarantee that the latter strategy would get you every dollar you want, Sen. Meeks. We can, though, guarantee that it would produce better educations for the schoolkids who now are pawns of Illinois politicians from the governor on down.

Scapegoating the teacher's unions for our nation's education disparity is an old, lazy trick. It's true that some union contracts have made it difficult to fire incompetent teachers and some unions have been less than willing to implement the teacher accountability measures valued by certain segments of the education reform community. But like all workers, teachers deserve a voice in the workplace. And a school system without teachers unions, as education expert Richard Kahlenberg wrote last year, would be mighty grim:

[A]bolishing unions would hardly catapult the interest of students to the top. Instead, it would increase the power of other adults in the system -- superintendents, who sometimes jettison promising educational programs for which they cannot personally take credit; principals, who sometimes are lax on discipline because they don't want their suspension numbers to look bad; and parents, who usually look out for the interests of their own children rather than what's good for all kids.

The other big winners would be supporters of privatized education, and opponents of the American labor movement. No single organization is as responsible for the defense of public education in the United States as teacher unions. Other groups oppose private school vouchers, but only teacher unions have the political muscle and organizational and strategic capacity to beat back privatization plans. Likewise, the death of teacher unions would snuff out one of the few bright spots in an otherwise desperate landscape for the American labor movement.

The Tribune's characterization of the teachers unions' stance -- "More money for education" -- is oversimplified as well.

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After enduring at least seven years of expensive education, the average law school graduate now carries a debt load between $50,000 and $90,000, meaning a well-paying job is virtually a necessity upon graduation. In steps the corporate sector, which attracts these economically insecure graduates with highly lucrative jobs. Meanwhile, the public sector just can't compete -- entry-level Wall Street lawyers can earn over $100,000 more than their public-interest counterparts. With this migration of young legal talent towards corporate firms, the public loses out.

But help may be on the way. Buried in a bill Congress passed last week reauthorizing the federal law overseeing higher education was a debt forgiveness proposal sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin.

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The announcement that Illinois will be taking part in a pilot program that eases the restrictions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was greeted with cautious cheers from educators yesterday. Complaints about NCLB have been widespread since the law went into effect in 2002, with many saying that the "one size fits all" model of regulating schools doesn't take into account the variety of challenges facing public schools. This new program aims to answer some of those concerns:

The Illinois plan would differentiate for the first time between schools that fail because the entire student body lags in math or reading and those that fail because a small group of students misses the mark.

The federal accountability law breaks students into groups based on race, ethnicity, language and special learning needs. If one group fails, the entire school fails, and consecutive years of failure can lead to harsh sanctions.

But under the new Illinois plan, sanctions would be targeted to help lagging groups. Schools, for example, that fail because English learners do not pass the test might have to upgrade their bilingual coursework, but wouldn't be forced to overhaul their entire curriculum.

While the program gives Illinois educators more flexibility, the Sun-Times editorial board argues today that reforms can only go so far inside the NCLB framework. They suggest these last-minute concessions by the Bush administration may simply amount to a desperate attempt to maintain other failed aspects of the policy:

[U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret] Spellings appears motivated by a desire to respond to complaints; this may also be a last-ditch effort to make the No Child law more acceptable so that it won't die after President Bush leaves office. She wants the law to stick around, pretty much as is, after she's gone. On that, she's wrong.

Still, the editorial board concludes that even minor reforms of the policy should be viewed in a positive light:

Some tinkering and a few pilot programs don't amount to the fundamental change needed to make this law work.

But the results of Spellings' experiments will, we hope, show us a better way.

Good news out of our nation's capitol today. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take up a challenge to a 2004 Kansas law allowing some illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public universities and colleges.

Illinois is one of nine other states that have a similar law on the books. And that's a good thing, because it's a statute that is sensible and humane. Children of immigrants, who by no fault of their own were born outside the United States and brought across the border illegally, are routinely shut out of college because of economic and social barriers. Even though many of them are bright, motivated kids who grew up speaking English in American schools, studies show less than 10 percent of undocumented high school graduates move into higher education.

Providing an opportunity to lower their education costs, even if they can't receive scholarships or financial aid, isn't a drag on our economy either, as some conservatives like to suggest. The Immigration Policy Center explains (pdf):

The ten states which, since 2001, have passed laws allowing undocumented students who graduate from in-state high schools to qualify for in-state college tuition have not experienced a large influx of new immigrant students that “displaces” native-born students or added financial burdens on their educational systems. In fact, these measures tend to increase school revenues by bringing in tuition from students who otherwise would not be in college.

With Kansas' law secure, it's now time for Congress to approve Dick Durbin's DREAM Act.

The state legislature is under the gun to vote on a constitutional amendment allowing voters to recall public officials. The Senate needs to pass the bill by tomorrow -- then the House must do so by May 4 -- if Illinois voters are to decide on it in November. In light of that deadline, House Speaker Michael Madigan announced today that he will be keeping all State Representatives in session beyond the scheduled adjournment of the House so that they can approve the Senate version of the recall bill. According to Rich Miller at Capitol Fax neither Madigan, nor the sponsor of the House Recall bill, Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), has any plans to amend the Senate bill. (For more on the recall issue, check out Josh's thoughts here and here.)

But that's not all that's happening in the capitol today ...

Lawmakers from the House and Senate say they've reached a compromise on new ethics legislation that would ban contractors who receive a certain amount of state business from contributing to state officials' political campaigns. Here's some background from the State Journal-Register:

The House passed an ethics bill last year, but it never came up for a vote in the Senate. Two weeks ago, Senate Democrats offered their own version that banned contributions from contractors, but set a higher limit for when the prohibition would take effect.

An announcement on that compromise is expected in Springfield within the hour.

Finally, the Senate has unanimously approved a bill that increases the amount Illinois borrowers can receive in federally subsidized student loans. If signed into law, the measure could offer some relief to students having trouble finding privately financed loans amid the national economic slump. A similar bill has already been approved by the House.

A Senate bill that would increase income tax rates throughout Illinois will not be voted on until the fall, says one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago). Senate Bill 2288 would address the state's debt and provide much-needed revenue for schools and capital improvements by raising the individual income tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent, and the corporate rate from 4.8 percent to 8 percent. The bill also includes a tax credit for low-income families.

According to Crain's, the postponement of the bill could be due to Gov. Blagojevich's repeated threats to veto any income tax hike:

Overriding a veto would require a supermajority of 60% of both the House and Senate, and it might be easier to line up such backing immediately after the election, when some lawmakers might be more willing to take a politically unpopular action.

Cullerton's decision to postpone bringing SB 2288 up for vote comes on the heels of the defeat in the House of a constitutional amendment to double the income tax for those making more than $250,000.

To show your support for SB 2288 or to the learn more about how the bill would improve education funding in the state, visit A+ Illinois.

Yesterday, Capitol Fax's Rich Miller asked readers what they thought government should do to cut down on Chicago's recent rise in teen violence. At Illinoize, poster Yellow Dog Democrat lays out a thorough list of suggestions -- beyond gun control -- that are well worth a read. Here are a few that stand out:

3. Reinvest in extra-curricular programs, arts, music, and physical education. These programs are proven to motivate academically challenged kids and lift their performance. They also keep kids off the streets and away from gangs during after-school hours.

5. Restore public faith in the police. Police can’t do it alone, they need community support, but Chicago has done everything possible to undermine public support, from John Burge on down.

6. Invest in communities. Unemployment in Chicago’s struggling neighborhoods is off the charts, especially among teenage black men. Black and Latino neighborhoods are shortchanged on everything from parks to schools to streets to police to economic investment.

8. Reform our juvenile justice system. Many parents see their kids headed down the wrong path, but there’s nowhere for them to turn for help. If they go to the police, their son goes right to the juvenile detention center, and while the JDC is making progress down the road to reform, most people think their kids would be better off on the streets.

10. Pass a Living Wage Law in Illinois. No parent should have to work two or even three jobs just to pay the rent and put food on the table, and we can’t expect anyone to be much of a parent if they are working 16 hour days seven days a week. Most are doing a heroic job of juggling it all, but something inevitably is going to fall.

I'd add a few more suggestions to the list.

Illinois has been a leader in providing cost-effective early education and we should continue to fund it. As research shows, at-risk children left out of quality pre-kindergarten are five times more likely to grow up to become criminals by age 27 than children in pre-kindergarten. Illinois Issues points out that two early-ed bills are working their way through the General Assembly now, which is a good sign.

We should also implement fair housing policy regulations, like inclusionary zoning, land banking, and thoughtful subsidy dispersal, to mitigate the negative effects of economic and racial segregation urban youths too often face.

Most importantly, we need to rethink our approach to the punitive and wasteful drug war and commit to prisoner re-entry programs that reduce recidivism.