When Illinois lawmakers were on the verge of taking up education funding reform last spring, State Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) called on his colleagues to act before the courts mandated the state to fund schools more equitably. As regular readers may recall, his appeal came after the Urban League introduced a legal challenge to the state's school funding formula, arguing that the funding disparity violates the state's civil rights laws because students of color are disproportionately short-changed by the current system. Now Meeks' warning is all the more relevant following news that the state is facing a second legal challenge.

This time, it's Business and Professional People for the Public Interest who is challenging Illinois' education funding formula on the grounds that taxpayers in property-poor communities are forced to pay higher tax rates than their wealthier counterparts. That, they argue, is a violation of the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution. This is a topic we've covered plenty over the past two years, but for some context, read through this column by the SouthtownStar's Phil Kadner last year:

Here's the worst thing about the property tax system ... Ford Heights - with a median home value of $29,000 - has a 20 percent tax rate, the highest in Cook County. That's based on composite tax rate figures from the county clerk's office, which show tax rates in Winnetka at about 5.5 percent. The average home in Winnetka sells for $900,000. [...]

Wealthy communities, or those with a lot of businesses, can raise more money with a lower property tax rate. Poorer communities, mainly in the south suburbs, need to really sock it to their residents to pay for schools, police and fire protection.

Even worse, schools in property-poor communities still generate far less money than wealthy districts despite paying a higher tax rate. A vast majority even struggle to meet the state-established minimum per pupil spending level, known the "Foundation Level." And this year, because of the ongoing budget crisis, state officials may cut state assistance that helps close the gap. As we've pointed out before, it's those same property-poor districts that will be hit hardest.

Some have noted that BPI's suit is similar to a case filed against former Gov. Jim Edgar's administration. In 1996, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that local districts would have to decide how to generate the necessary amount of revenue. But BPI's Executive Director Hoy McConnell tells us there's been a sea change in the state's relationship with schools in the past 14 years that could change the outcome.

"Since then, Illinois has enacted learning standards, which, in essence tell local districts what they have to teach and what students have to learn," McConnell says. "The state today effectively controls teaching and learning and can even take over if they aren't meeting standards." The additional oversight, however, has bolstered the case for more state education funding as the achievement gap has widened between wealthy districts and their poor counterparts, which struggle to purchase equipment and hire highly-trained teachers.

For evidence of that, look no farther than the Education Funding Advisory Board's recommendation that districts bump per pupil foundation-level spending up by $2,000 a year. According to the board, enhanced instructional spending leads to dramatic improvements in classroom outcomes. It's a point that few lawmakers -- on either side of the aisle -- quibble with. The problem is that political cowardice has prevailed in Springfield where the Democratic majority, in both the Senate and House, have backed off fundamental tax reform that could put schools on level playing ground. Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing a counter-productive 1 percent tax increase that may not generate enough new revenue to restore the education cuts that are currently on the table.

If lawmakers won't act on their own, McConnell says the hope is that BPI suit -- which was introduced in Sagamon County yesterday -- will push them in that direction. Unlike the Urban League case -- which is still stuck in the fact-finding phase -- the tax argument should be straight forward and should move through the courts rather quickly. "The facts are there in black and white," McConnell adds, "and it's just a matter of evaluating our argument around those facts."

As the state prepares its counter-argument, officials should heed the advice of Meeks (which the Sun-Times editorial board echoed yesterday): there is another option. "It would be a shame," Meeks noted, "if the court has to mandate Illinois to do what Illinois should have been doing all along." The biggest shame is doing nothing for so long.