Advancing Education in Illinois
I was a member of the Education Task Force of the Faith Coalition for the Common Good in Springfield in 2014 when we were approached by Advance Illinois to join with them in common cause. As a diverse community group supported primarily by local churches and unions, we were wary of the group for various reasons, not least of which was the almost reflexive downstate suspicion of Chicago. We did not think that our interests would align with theirs. That first meeting, however, convinced us otherwise. Speakers from Advance Illinois made a compelling case that students throughout the entire state suffered from the incredibly inequitable funding formula used to finance K-12 schools in Illinois.
Later we met with downstate Senator Andy Manar, who had also joined forces with Advance Illinois. He had a large map in his office showing how much money was being spent per student in each district throughout the state. The differences were shocking and the inequity clear. Thus began a nearly four-year campaign to turn the situation around, which finally occurred on August 31, 2017, when a new bill establishing an evidence-based school funding formula was enacted into law.
That victory would not have been achieved without Advance Illinois and its success in building a coalition of stakeholders throughout the state. President Robin Steans pushed everyone into creating a tight-knit and powerful organization. We had regular conference calls and meetings, and real sharing occurred. We educated each other.
At that time, most school districts were suffering from a budget device used by the state called “proration.” One newspaper called it “a form of backdoor budget cuts designed to issue across-the-board percentage cuts to school districts in Illinois.” While our long-term goal was equitable funding for students throughout the state, proration was immediately devastating, so we focused on that first. Advance Illinois then led one of the most effective “actions” I have ever seen. They packed the room at the Illinois Board of Education, and superintendents from every part of the state stood, holding a sign with the amount of money per student the district was losing because of proration. It was a stunning demonstration of both loss and inequity, and very effective. The Chair of ISBE was clearly moved.
While that was one of the more dramatic moments in the march toward equity, most of the work consisted of endless hours of conference calls, meetings, “actions,” testimony at hearings, canvassing door-to-door, and speaking with legislators, always with Advance Illinois leading the way. They brought us all together, worked the media campaign, taught us how to advocate and how to be effective. Because the Faith Coalition for the Common Good has seen what they can do, we continue to align with them to “fund the formula,” to address the teacher shortage, to get more funding for the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program, and to work in coalition with other groups toward transforming the funding of higher education.