Despite harsh words from Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna), the Democratic-controlled General Assembly had not yet acted on the amended version of the state's K-12 funding measure early this month.
"It is time to move forward," McCombie said in a press release. "The Legislature must take immediate action on SB1 to ensure our schools open on time and stay open with the appropriate funding. No child should miss a minute of school as a result of inaction by the General Assembly. Passing SB1 as revised means the legislature can achieve a genuinely, fair and equitable reform to our current education funding formula in a timely manner."
The amended bill removes a $250 million block grant intended for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teacher pension fund, which Gov. Bruce Rauner considered a bailout that would only benefit CPS. As McCombie pointed out, CPS was given a separate block grant in 1995 to self-fund its teacher pension fund but skipped paying into the fund for 11 years.
Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna)
“I support the changes made by the administration to SB1 so that Illinois can have a fair and equitable school funding formula that will treat all students across the state equally," McCombie said in his statement. "SB1 as written did not reflect the bipartisan negotiations that took place over the last several years under Gov. Rauner or more recently this session under (House) Speaker Madigan (D-Chicago). The majority party decided alone to amend the legislation and to imbed a Chicago Public Schools pension bailout. Gov. Rauner issuing an amendatory veto on SB1 should not have come as a surprise, as he stated he would do just that since May 31."
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