Crespo Responds to Voting Against Governor’s Changes to Education Funding Reform

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, issued the following statement after voting no on Governor Rauner’s changes to the education funding reform plan:

“Governor Rauner is singlehandedly undermining years of work aimed at overhauling a school-funding formula that’s considered the most inequitable in the nation. The governor was able to get 90 percent of what he wanted into our education funding reform plan, and he still rejected it. The current system forces school districts to rely heavily on property taxes, creating huge disparities in per-student funding. Governor Rauner’s plan would protect the status quo and put U-46, the state’s second-largest school district, in grave risk.

“We weren’t able to get everything we wanted into the legislation, but that is the essence of compromise. Even his own Secretary of Education Beth Purvis stated that we cannot let perfect get in the way of good, and our education reform plan is a good for local schools. Yet, Governor Rauner rejected it and proposed a plan that went against some of the ideas discussed in his very own School Funding Commission. Our children deserve better, and that’s why I voted against his changes.

“Additionally, the governor’s veto of the education funding reform bill blows a $200 million hole in the balanced budget he already vetoed once. His plan spends $221 million more overall, with no plan to pay for it. This has gone on long enough. I will continue working with colleagues across the aisle to pass a funding reform that ensures a high quality education is accessible to all children.”

Crespo represents the 44th District, which includes all or portions of Bartlett, Elgin, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg and Streamwood.