Your article on education funding was one of the most thorough and accurate analyses of the funding problem and the competing bills that I’ve seen.
The only quibble I had with the piece was the reference to a “poison pill” in the budget requiring school funding to be “evidence-based.” Although that provision was included in the budget bill that ultimately passed the General Assembly (see page 433 of the PDF version of the enrolled SB6), that identical language was included in the Republicans’ “Capitol Compromise” budget proposal, SB2214, which the Democrats had no hand in drafting. I’d refer you to page 533 of that bill for the reference to “Evidence-Based Funding.”
This was not a provision introduced solely by Democrats. It is, I believe, the result of a conclusion your own article makes, which is that both Democrats and Republicans want to see this evidence-based model pass and succeed.
Thank you again for your article, and thank you for reaching out to the local superintendents to see how this issue is affecting our districts at the most basic level.
Illinois Representative Mike Halpin
Rock Island
