SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is forming a panel to pick up where a recent commission left off revamping the state’s outdated public school funding formula.
The Chicago Democrat announced the panel Thursday, Feb. 23. He says the group will address questions left unanswered by a funding reform commission convened by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner last year.
That commission reported its findings earlier this month. It concluded Illinois must change how it funds schools to ensure all students are properly educated. But it produced no legislative proposals.
Madigan says the governor’s commission failed to acknowledge what he called the current formula’s overreliance on property taxes.
Madigan appointed a dozen House Democrats. Republican House Minority Leader Jim Durkin’s spokeswoman says their office hasn’t been contacted yet regarding the commission.
