Progress Illinois

In a disappointing turn of events, the Illinois General Assembly this year passed up a historic opportunity to reform the state's education funding structure. Regular readers know that State Sen. James Meeks' HB 174 passed the Senate in May and Gov. Pat Quinn signaled he'd sign the bill if approved by the House. By raising the income tax rate from 3 to 5 percent, the state would have dealt with the structural deficit over the next couple years.  Moreover, once the deficit had been plugged, the bill would have ultimately generated $4 billion in additional annual funding for Illinois schools and partially shifted the system away from its problematic reliance on property taxes. But political cowardice got in the way and the bill never saw a vote in the House.

The result? Our school funding system will continue to provide a better education to those in wealthy areas while skimping on the poor.  An analysis released earlier this week highlights how this inequitable structure is affecting student performance along racial lines. The data (derived from National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores) shows that the achievement gap between African-American and white students in Illinois is among the widest in the nation. The Sun-Times has the details:

In fourth-grade math in 2007, white Illinois students scored 32 points higher than their African-American counterparts on the 500-point national test. The national gap was only 26 points.

By eighth grade, white Illinois kids scored 38 points higher than black peers. Nationally, white eighth-graders outpaced blacks by 31 points.

The AP talked to another reform advocate:

The gap exists even before kids start school. But schools don't mitigate the problem, said Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a children's advocacy group.

"African-American students are less likely than their white counterparts to be taught by teachers who know their subject matter," Haycock said.

"They are less likely to be exposed to a rich and challenging curriculum," she said. "And the schools that educate them typically receive less state and local funding than the ones serving mainly white students."

As former Illinois schools Supt. Max McGee told the Sun-Times, the latest indications of  "a stratified system ... are outrageous and ought to be an immediate call to action."

Outrageous, yes. Unexpected, no. For decades, Illinois lawmakers have avoided raising our extremely low income tax rate, even though it's widely acknowledged to be the most responsible way to adequately fund schools.  But beyond those cowardly legislators, there is broad support for school funding reform. Even the conservative heavyweights behind Advance Illinois agree that investing in schools is good public policy while inaction will continue to hurt the state's economic competitiveness.

Now that the legislature has failed to act once again, keep your eyes on the Chicago Urban League's school discrimination suit (PDF) that's moving through the judicial system now. As Urban League CEO Cheryle Jackson put it in May, "[I]naction speaks volumes; it says that you’re willing to protect and not speak out against a system that clearly discriminates."