Chicago Public Radio's Natalie Moore ran into State Rep. David Miller (D-Dolton) at a party in D.C. Friday night and reported this tidbit:

Even with Blago’s impeachment troubles and the tumult down in Springfield, Miller says he’s determined to pass a school reform bill. He didn’t exactly give a date, but says he’s going to reintroduce a version of House Bill 750.

We'll be keeping a close eye on this once the Senate impeachment proceedings conclude and the state legislature gets back to business. 

The basic idea behind HB 750 -- originally introduced in 2003 -- is to change the way public education is paid for in Illinois by increasing the income and corporate tax rates, while lowering the reliance on property taxes (read Miller's 2007 editorial on the subject here).  Early last year, Sen. John Cullerton -- now the Senate President -- introduced SB 2288, a revised version of HB 750 that sought to raise more revenue in order to pay for the capital plan as well. 

Both bills were viewed as somewhat futile at the time because of Gov. Blagojevich's pledge to veto any legislation that involved an income tax increase.  But with Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn presumably taking over this spring, proposals of this sort may find new life.  (And if Rep. Will Burns has his way, new urgency.)