Tax and Budget

ANALYSIS OF SB 1947 (Public Act 100-0465): The Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act

Release: October 10, 2017

On Thursday, August 31, 2017, the people of Illinois woke up in the state that had the worst—as in least equitable—K-12 public education funding formula in the country. That night they went to bed in the state that had the best. This historic transformation happened because that afternoon, Governor Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill (SB) 1947—which became Public Act (P.A.) 100-0465—into law. This breakthrough legislation incorporates the full “evidence-based model” (EBM) of school funding previously contained in SB 1.

New Details Emerge on Illinois' "Tier 3" Pension Plan

Release: September 27, 2017

Illinois' fiscal year 2018 budget introduced major changes to the state's public pension systems in an attempt to grapple with Illinois' roughly $130 billion in unfunded liabilities. One of the most important aspects of these changes was a new package of benefits. This new package, called "Tier 3," introduced a hybrid defined benefit-defined contribution plan in addition to the defined benefit plans of Tier 1 and Tier 2.

Governor Rauner’s Amendatory Veto of SB1 Has a Number of Negative Consequences for Schools Across Illinois

Release: August 14, 2017

While the Illinois Senate voted on Sunday to override the Governor's amendatory veto (AV) of SB1, the Evidence-Based Model for education funding reform, a new CTBA analysis has identified at least six aspects of the AV that would each threaten the ability of Illinois school districts to reach adequate funding to serve their students.

These deficiencies underscore the importance of passing SB1.

CTBA finds that Governor Rauner's AV would frustrate SB1's core purpose of creating an adequate and equitable education funding formula in a number of ways, including by weakening:

Governor Rauner’s Amendatory Veto of SB1 Artificially Inflates the Equalized Assessed Value of Most School Districts—Thus Under- Funding the Classroom

Release: August 7, 2017

CTBA analysis shows that school districts around the state would see their funding threatened by Governor Bruce Rauner's amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, the Evidence Based Model for School Funding Reform.

The Cost of a Two-Year Property Tax Freeze For Illinois Schools: Up to $830 Million

Release: June 23, 2017

Governor Bruce Rauner has made a property tax freeze a centerpiece of his demands for a full state budget, and the Illinois Senate passed a bill (SB484) that would enact a two-year freeze in May. But such a freeze, without provision for replacement revenue from the state, would effectively be a massive funding cut for K-12 education in Illinois.

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