A bipartisan group of state legislators has been meeting since August, trying to come up with a new plan to fund public schools.
This isn't the first such commission; Illinois has a notoriously inequitable school funding formula, and lawmakers have been trying to adjust it for years.
But State Senator Karen McConnaughay, a Republican from St. Charles, says senate leaders hoping to end the overall budget stalemate have inspired lawmakers to find common ground.
"We all love this state, we all want to do the right thing, and we just are tired. We're tired of the impasse,” she says. “We're tired of going home and trying to explain why a group of adults cannot work out their differences.”
The commission has reached tentative agreement on a few key elements and plans to have a final framework by the end of the month.
