Greenwood Opposes Governor’s Plan to Funnel Money from Metro East Schools to Wealthy Chicago-Area Districts

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, released the following statement after voting against legislation mirroring the governor’s education funding plan, which would have hurt local schools in order to benefit wealthy districts:

“The future of children locally and across our state depends on securing an education funding solution that treats all districts fairly. Upon reviewing the governor’s proposal, it was clear that his plan would hurt schools locally at the expense of giving more resources to wealthier school districts long-term.

“We cannot have a funding plan that picks winners and losers, and students should not have their opportunities limited by the zip code they live in. I helped put a fair plan on the governor’s desk, but he has chosen to rewrite it in order to pick winners and losers. The winners are his wealthy Chicago-area districts. The losers are our families and communities. The governor’s plan dangerously strips away funding protections that were in in my funding plan. It forces Metro East communities to choose between investing in local economic development and investing in our children’s futures.

“The result of the governor’s plan would be massive local tax increases, and a plan that is even less fair than the broken status quo.

“We cannot allow the governor to pit one child against another in an effort to score political points. I encourage lawmakers from both parties to come together and override his veto immediately so that we can move past the uncertainty that has affected parents, students and educators for far too long.”