Thetop Illinois Senate Democrat says poor school districts aren’t getting their fair share of state money. He says lawmakers shouldn’t approve an education budget until that’s fixed.
Senate President John Cullerton says Illinois shouldn’t send more money to school districts without addressing what he calls the most inequitable system of school finance in the country. He says rich districts get rewarded with more state money and poor districts don’t get their fair share.
"Our broken school funding formula is the defining crisis of our time. Fixing it is the turnaround our state truly needs," he says.
Illinois doesn’t have a budget -- in part because Governor Bruce Rauner hasn’t supported one since Democrats didn’t pass any of his policy ideas.
Cullerton says he wants to take a similar stand on school funding.
