(The Center Square) – Chicago Public Schools officials are asking for more money from Illinois taxpayers, but a state lawmaker from Chicago says the state does not owe CPS.
The Illinois House Executive Committee held a subject matter hearing Thursday to address CPS finances.
State Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said the Chicago mayor was wrong when he said the state of Illinois owes CPS $1 billion.
“We got here because, in June of 2024, Mayor Brandon Johnson jumped out and said the state owes CPS a billion dollars. I will tell you what I said then I think is still true now. I believe everybody wants to help children. Very few people want to help him based on his lack of leadership. He was wrong in his position about the state owing CPS, and his math was wrong as well,” Tarver said.
Tarver said, outside of Chicago, there are no votes to send money to Chicago without sending money to the rest of the state.
“That has to be part of the conversation,” Tarver emphasized.
Tarver continued to call out Chicago while referring to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“Rarely would you find me quoting Governor Pritzker, but I will say I think he said something that a lot of us feel. I don’t think that it’s the job of Springfield to rescue the school districts that might have been irresponsible with the one-time money they received. Poor fiscal management on the part of the local government is not necessarily the responsibility of Springfield,” Tarver said.
Civic Federation President Joseph Ferguson told the committee that the state’s evidence-based funding formula cannot be altered for one district.
“The bottom line is, for CPS to get $1 billion more in EBF funding actually means an outlay of over $4 billion statewide by the state, which is dealing with other immediate fiscal challenges,” Ferguson explained.
Interim CPS Superintendent Macquline King said the district has a $734 million deficit and she needs to present a budget on Aug. 13.
King told lawmakers she had one specific request.
“Over the past 20 years, we have increased the property tax levy to the maximum amount allowed under the property tax cap, understanding that the local tax base is the primary funder of local schools and is the only revenue stream in our control to relieve the pressures caused by inflation,” King said.
King threatened “drastic mid-year cuts” if revenue does not materialize.
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In an exchange with CPS board member and Johnson appointee Michilla Blaise, Tarver said the mayor has demonstrated a lack of leadership.
“The mayor does not have four votes outside of city legislators, if he has that, for anything that he wants to do, which is why he came up short with every single thing he asked for this year,” Tarver said.
