What an historic week in Springfield. With a nearly unanimous vote, SB7 as amended passed both chambers in record time. We congratulate Senator Kimberly Lightford, chair of the Senate Education Committee, for her foresight in bringing together all the necessary stakeholders to craft a bill that will provide education reform in Illinois. The bill has been sent to the Governor for action. A synopsis of the bill was provided in an earlier edition of the Monitor, which can be found in the archives on the Illinois PTA website.
The other really BIG news is Springfield is: BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET. Currently, three budget versions have been making the rounds: the Governor's proposed budget, the Senate's proposed budget, and the House's proposed budget. Each of these relies heavily on cuts to services to achieve the constitutional requirement of a balanced budget, but the amount and line item of the cuts varies. It is important to realize that supplemental services supporting academic success are some of the most commonly recommended for cuts. For instance, mental health services are likely to bear much of the burden, along with programs that provide a safety net for teen parents and low income families. It is disheartening to find that at the same time Social Emotional Learning Standards are being regularly implemented in schools, the services outside schools that make a difference are being recommended for massive cuts.
It is even more disheartening to learn that as the percentage of children living in poverty in Illinois increases, the poverty grant, which is part of the education budget, is one the most dramatic cuts being considered.
One of the major dilemmas in preparing a budget for Fiscal Year 2012 is the differences in revenue projections. While both the Governor and the Senate are using projections from the Commission of Governmental Forecasting and Analysis (CGFA), the House revenue projections are internal. Arriving at an agreed upon budget becomes more difficult when the chambers are using different numbers in their projections.
What can YOU do? · First, thank your Senator and Representative for voting YES to SB7 as amended. · Second, contact your Senator and thank them for using the CGFA revenue projections which have, over time, had an accuracy rate of 98% or more. · Next, contact your representative and ask them to use the same revenue projections as the Senate. · Finally, contact both your Senator and Representative and ask them to seek legislation to "decouple" Illinois from the Federal "bonus depreciation rule." This would generate an estimated $600 million in additional revenue for Illinois.
With these small steps, the impact of deep budget cuts can be made less painful to those who will feel their sting.
Should you have comments, concerns or questions, please contact a member of the legislative team.
Barb Quinn Gretchen McDowell Sarah Williamson Legislation Chairman State Legislation Consultant Federal Legislation Consultant bquinnpta@aol.com gretmcdowell@aol.com s_williamson@mail.com 847.985.9078 773.238.0885 309.579.2860
Attached please find the first bill list of the 97th General Assembly. It is quite lengthy and there are some bills that are moving quickly. PTA will be paying careful attention to the voucher bills as well as the consolidation bills. PTA continues to oppose any and all bills that take away funds from our already under-funded public schools, and jeopardize local control. Please let your legislators hear from you. Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Illinois PTA for further direction. Holly Petersen, WCJH 2nd VP
