THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Elected Chicago School Board map...Pritzker's play in other states...Invest in Kids future still unclear
November 2, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Last night, the Texas Rangers won their first World Series since becoming a franchise in 1961. It reminded me, of course, of the emotion of the Cubs World Series win in 2016, but it also made me wonder: what will be the next Chicago franchise to win a championship?
The Bears and White Sox are hot garbage of franchises. The Blackhawks have a budding superstar in Connor Bedard, but I have socks older than him. The Bulls are professional at mediocrity. Is it the Cubs? Yeesh. That doesn’t feel promising. Who do you think it is? Drop me a note at patrick@theillinoize.com.
The General Assembly returns Tuesday. Governor Pritzker makes an “infrastructure improvement” announcement in north suburban Lake Forest this morning.
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YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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State lawmakers propose new Chicago school board map days ahead of return to Springfield (Chicago Tribune)
Democratic state lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled their latest attempt at drawing districts for an elected school board in Chicago, a little more than a year before voters first cast ballots for the body and days before the legislature reconvenes in Springfield for its final scheduled session of the year.
The new map represents the legislature’s third attempt at crafting boundaries for 20 districts, each of which will eventually elect a representative to the board that oversees Chicago Public Schools. The shift to an elected board, which was approved in 2021 and takes full effect after elections in 2026, also includes a board president elected citywide.
In an initial step, 10 members will be elected in November 2024. The remaining members, including the president, will be appointed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who advocated for the change to an elected board in an earlier role as an organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union.
A public hearing on the new map has yet to be scheduled and, aside from the boundaries, several related issues remain unresolved. Among those are how elections will be conducted for the first 10 board seats next year and whether board members will be allowed to be paid.
Nevertheless, the two Chicago Democrats leading the mapmaking process in their respective chambers, Sen. Robert Martwick and Rep. Ann Williams, both said they hope lawmakers will be able to send a final map to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk before the legislature is scheduled to adjourn for the year on Nov. 9.
“It is my sincere hope that we get this passed now,” Martwick said, adding that giving potential candidates more time to prepare, “the better the outcomes will be.”
Related: Illinois lawmakers release third draft map for Chicago elected school board (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Gov. Pritzker’s abortion rights group spends $1.5 million in Ohio, Virginia and Nevada to fight ‘extremism at every level’ (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s newly created nonprofit to combat anti-abortion efforts has already contributed $1.5 million to the movement, including a share in the next big abortion rights battleground state: Virginia.
Think Big America’s contribution of $25,000 each to four state Senate Democratic candidates in Virginia, and an additional $150,000 to the state Democratic party, comes ahead of a pivotal Nov. 7 election that may reshape abortion restrictions in the state.
While Pritzker’s group is aimed at helping states fight their own battles, abortion ballot questions will also likely boost Democratic turnout in next year’s presidential election.
In Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has said he would support an abortion ban after 15 weeks should Republicans win full control of the state legislature in next week’s elections. Republicans hope to hold the state’s House of Delegates and and flip the Senate.
Think Big America contributed $25,000 each to state Delegates Danica Roem, Schuyler VanValkenburg, Russet Perry and Joel Griffin.
Christina Amestoy, spokeswoman for Think Big America, called the contribution an example of “fighting extremism at every level.”
In Nevada, Think Big America also contributed $1 million to the Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom PAC, which is fighting for a November 2024 ballot question that would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive rights.” The newly formed PAC is affiliated with Planned Parenthood.
In Ohio, Think Big America contributed $250,000 to Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, a ballot committee made up of a coalition of reproductive rights advocates. Ohioans on Nov. 7 will be voting whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitution.
Related: J.B. Pritzker-backed group sends $250,000 to Virginia Democrats (NBC News)
Senate Republicans argue Pritzker should focus on Illinois problems instead of national politics (WAND-TV)
Scholarship tax credit program among issues still on the table with 3 legislative days remaining (Capitol News Illinois)
Lawmakers will return to Springfield next week for the second half of their fall veto session, giving advocates of a tax credit program for private school scholarships one last chance to push for its extension before it’s set to expire at the end of the year.
The Invest in Kids program is scheduled to reach the end of its five-year life on Dec. 31. The program, which launched in 2018, costs the state $75 million annually in tax breaks for donors to private school scholarship funds. Those funds awarded nearly 10,000 scholarships last year.
Many Democrats in the General Assembly would like to see the program sunset as scheduled, joining Illinois’ largest teachers’ unions in calling it a backdoor voucher program. But some in the majority party – especially those with large private school constituencies – have joined Republicans in pushing for its renewal.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s position on the program has evolved since he first ran for governor in 2018, when part of his campaign platform included ending the scholarship program. Since then, he’s softened his stance at various points, including last month when he said he’d be willing to sign an extension of the program “in whatever form.”
That remark provoked a strong rebuke from the state’s two largest teachers’ unions, which accused Pritzker of siding with “anti-public education Republican governors.”
At an unrelated event Wednesday, the governor’s tone toward the program was ambivalent when asked about it, saying it’s up to the General Assembly, and that “support for public education is really where my focus is.”
“I’ve always said, you know, that we're not trying to prevent people from going to private school, but I also believe in public education and want to make sure that we're funding public education, to the extent that that is possible,” Pritzker said.
He pointed out that the state has increased K-12 education by more than $2 billion in the years since it passed the Invest in Kids Act as part of a broader overhaul of the way Illinois funds public education.
The law’s built-in sunset means private school scholarship donors can’t claim tax credits for their donations after Dec. 31, although current recipients’ scholarships will still be valid through the spring semester. If the three-fifths majority needed to pass legislation with an immediate effective date during veto session proves too burdensome, there’s a chance lawmakers could take up the issue again in the spring, although the tax credit portion of the program would experience some disruption.
Democrats in the House have proposed a compromise, House Bill 4194, which would scale back the program to $50 million annually from $75 million, along with halving the largest possible donation tax to a scholarship fund from $1 million to $500,000 and changing the tax credit from the current 75 percent for all donations in order to incentivize smaller donors. Democrats also want the scholarships to be more targeted at students from low-income areas.
Senate Republican leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said in a news conference Wednesday his caucus is prepared to see the program scaled back for the sake of its survival, noting his GOP colleagues are comfortable with “everything that’s in that proposal.”
“While we would like to see the program made permanent, we realize it’s going to take compromise to get this program extended,” he said.
Related: Durkin: Legislators should show some backbone and save Invest in Kids tax credit scholarships (Chicago Sun-Times)
THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
State Report Card Shows Students Still Trailing Pre-Pandemic Achievement
Opinion: The General Assembly Should Do the Right Thing and Extend Invest in Kids
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Bailey, Bost compete in 'Trump primary' (Bloomington Pantagraph)
Latest state school report card shows proficiency gains, persistent gaps on racial lines (Capitol News Illinois)
North suburban homeowners seeing biggest property tax increase in 30 years, treasurer’s analysis finds (Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker’s science project: Aggressive bid for federal semiconductor center part of plan to make Illinois a high-tech hub (Chicago Sun-Times)
‘Supercool’ Joliet I-80 Houbolt Road interchange celebrated by Pritzker, local leaders (Shaw Media)
Civic Federation urges City Council to devise contingency plan for migrant funding (Chicago Sun-Times)
Real estate transfer tax plan delayed in City Council (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Editorial: State emergency agency can’t blow off resignations, sky-high billings (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Chicago can be a ‘sanctuary city,’ sure. Just not in my backyard. (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Don’t rush to lift Illinois moratorium on new nuclear power plants (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Mayor Brandon Johnson has an easy chance to show he’s not anti-business. But will he take it? (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: At $20M, still no suitors for online-only sports betting licenses (Shaw Media)
Joyce: Finding middle ground key to making progress for 40th Senate District (Kankakee Daily Journal)
Opinion: How to ensure we have an electric grid that can weather the future (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Opinion: It’s time to say goodbye to changing clocks twice a year (Chicago Tribune)
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