A press release from State Senator Karen McConnaughay:

Sen. McConnaughay response to the Senate’s vote on Senate Bill 1

SPRINGFIELD – In response to the Illinois Senate’s August 13 vote to advance Senate Bill 1 to the House of Representatives, State Senator Karen McConnaughay (R-St. Charles) issued the following statement:

“Senate Bill 1 is a partisan school funding plan that directs hundreds of millions of dollars to one school district, Chicago Public Schools, at the expense of students in Kane, McHenry and throughout the state.

“I did not support Senate Bill 1 when it passed in May, and I still do not believe Senate Bill 1 is the best we can do for the state’s 852 school districts.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enact school funding reform that treats all districts and students fairly, regardless of their ZIP code.

“Lawmakers were making significant headway on a compromise proposal in May before negotiations were abruptly halted.

“I know all my colleagues recognize the critical importance of this issue. There is still time for us to come together in support of a bipartisan plan that represents true equity for all of our children.”

Senator McConnaughay is a member of the Senate Education Committee and was a member of the bipartisan, bicameral Illinois School Funding Reform Commission. The commission was charged with providing a framework the General Assembly could use to reform the state’s current school funding formula, which is considered by many to be the most inequitable in the nation.