Illinois

Illinois State Board of Education braces for tighter budgets

Published

2 weeks ago

November 19, 2023

Illinois State Board of Education braces for tighter budgets

SPRINGFIELD — Officials at the Illinois State Board of Education say they’re receiving more requests for increased funding for next year than the state could possibly afford, and they’re bracing for the possibility that budgets will start to tighten in the near future.

“It does appear that revenue will be a little bit tighter in the next four to five years,” ISBE’s chief financial officer Matt Seaton told the board at its monthly meeting Thursday. “And with other state pressures, whether that be pension payments or what have you, it would be our anticipation that the budgets are going to start to restrict a little bit.”

Seaton delivered a summary of the funding increase requests that ISBE received from districts and members of the public during a series of hearings on the agency’s budget last month. Those requested increases, he said, totaled just over $1.7 billion.

The largest of those was for an increase in Evidence-Based Funding, or EBF dollars. That’s the formula that lawmakers approved in 2017 aimed at eventually bringing all districts up to an adequate level of funding.

Under the law, the state is required to add at least $350 million in new funding each year to its preK-12 spending, with the bulk of that money earmarked for districts that are the least adequately funded. During the budget hearings, however, advocates pushed for an even bigger increase — roughly $550 million.

Advocates made a similar request last year. But Tony Sanders, who took over as state superintendent of education in February, was reluctant at that time to request more than what is required under state law.

He has indicated he’s unlikely to change that position.

“I’m in it for the long run to make sure that we’re able to sustain that funding year over year at the $350 million level,” Sanders, a former superintendent of School District U-46 in Elgin, told Capitol News Illinois during an interview in March. “So I was fully on board with $350 million. But even as a former school district leader, I was not supportive of the $550 million that was being requested.”

Federal funds to dry up

Seaton said many of the funding requests ISBE received during the hearings were similar to previous years — an additional $75 million for early childhood education, for example, and $10 million more for career and technical education.

But he said there were also some new categories of funding requests this year, including requests to replace a stream of temporary federal funding that is about to be discontinued. Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER funding, helped cover some extraordinary expenses schools incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, according to ISBE data, nearly $7.8 billion of ESSER funding has come to Illinois since March 2020, but nearly all of that went directly to school districts.

Of that money, about $5.3 billion has been spent, with more than a third — $1.8 billion — going toward salaries, $1 billion going toward purchased services such as outside contracts, and $681 million for supplies and materials.

That funding stream will end in September 2024, which will leave many districts facing some tough budget choices heading into the 2024-25 academic year.

Revenue may drop

The budget discussion at the state board came one day after the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget issued its latest five-year revenue projections. That report included a $1.4 billion upward revision to the revenue estimate for the current fiscal year, bringing the total estimate for this year to just over $52 billion.

But the report by GOMB also said that bump in revenue could be largely offset by $1 billion in additional spending needs this year. And the report suggests that revenue for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, could drop slightly, to $51.5 billion, and then experience modest growth in the years after that.

GOMB noted that while most economists are no longer predicting an imminent recession, several “recession related characteristics” exist that could affect future economic performance, and thus future state revenues. Those include consumers dipping into savings and taking out more debt to maintain spending levels and the resumption of student loan repayment that could reduce consumer spending.

Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday that nonfarm payroll jobs in Illinois fell by 15,000 in October while the state’s unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a point, to 4.6 percent, well above the national rate of 3.9 percent.

Thursday’s discussion at ISBE was only a preliminary step toward developing a budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year. Seaton said agency staff will make a more formal proposal at the board’s December meeting. The board is expected to vote on a formal budget request in January.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

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Illinois

College Wrap: Rutgers men’s basketball drops Big Ten opener to Illinois

Published

6 hours ago

December 2, 2023

Press Room

College Wrap: Rutgers men’s basketball drops Big Ten opener to Illinois

PISCATAWAY — Terrence Shannon Jr. had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 24 Illinois beat Rutgers 76-58 on Saturday in the Big Ten opener for both schools.

Marcus Domask added 15 points for the Illini (6-1), who won at Rutgers for the first time since Feb. 25, 2018.

Austin Williams and Aundre Hyatt scored nine points apiece for the Scarlet Knights (5-2), whose five-game winning streak ended.

The game featured the top two defenses in the Big Ten, with Rutgers holding opponents to 55.5 points and Illinois allowing 58.7. Rutgers shot 33.3% from the field (20 of 60).

Illinois went on a 17-2 spurt midway through the second half to take its largest lead at 67-44. Shannon made three 3s during the run.

The Illini opened the game on a 14-2 run, with Quincy Guerrier contributing seven points, but Rutgers closed within 41-36 at halftime thanks to an 18-9 run over the final 7:06.

TCNJ 76, NJCU 70

EWING — Khalid Bakare came off the bench to score 14 points and lead four in double figures as the Lions (7-1, 3-0) held off the Gothic Knights (2-5, 1-2). David Alexandre added 12 points and nine rebounds as TCNJ won its fifth in a row.

Women’s Basketball

Monmouth 62, Rider 42

LAWRENCEVILLE — Kaci Donovan scored 23 points and the defending CAA champion Hawks (3-4) rode a hot start to down their former MAAC rival Broncs (2-5). Taylor Langan tallied 14 points for Rider, which has lost three in a row.

NJCU 69, TCNJ 62

EWING — Izzy Leazier put in 19 points, but the Lions (3-4 1-2) couldn’t slow down All-American guard Damaris Rodriguez, who scored a game-high 28 points for the Gothic Knights (4-2, 3-0).

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Illinois

Illinois High School Boys Basketball Schedule, Live Streams in Jackson County Today – December 2

Published

12 hours ago

December 2, 2023

Press Room

Illinois High School Boys Basketball Schedule, Live Streams in Jackson County Today – December 2

Searching for how to watch high school basketball games in Jackson County, Illinois today? We’ve got what you need.

Follow high school basketball this season on the NFHS Network! Keep tabs on your family or alma mater and tune in!

Jackson County, Illinois High School Boys Basketball Games Today

Herrin High School at Murphysboro High School

Game Time: 3:30 PM CT on December 2
Location: DuQuoin, IL
Conference: Southern Ill. River-to-River
How to Stream: Watch Here

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Illinois

Eye On Illinois: State Police looking to consolidate, triage corruption tips

Published

18 hours ago

December 2, 2023

Press Room

Eye On Illinois: State Police looking to consolidate, triage corruption tips

Do you think your state Senator is on the take? Is the city building inspector turning a blind eye to obvious violations? Is the school district CFO skimming off the top?

These and other examples of public corruption are often rumored and rarely corroborated, but perhaps a new Illinois State Police tool can improve outcomes. The agency issued a news release Thursday detailing its new online form allowing average Illinoisans to report public corruption directly to the Special Investigations Unit (tinyurl.com/ISPcorruption).

Scott T. Holland

Reports do not need a name or location, but do require a phone number and email address. Respondents must name the government agency involved, the name and title of the reported subject and offer a detailed summary. The form has optional fields to indicate other agencies notified along with information on witnesses.

“Examples of public corruption may include an elected official steering contracts to friends in exchange for a monetary kickback, overbilling a contractor and embezzling the money, personally benefiting from federal/state-funded programs, wire fraud and money laundering,” according to the release. “Having allegations reported to one place will streamline the process and allow ISP to respond more quickly. ISP will triage all online submissions and determine the correct agency to handle the investigation.”

Thursday’s column explored ISP’s fresh data on its updated Clear and Present Danger report system. Here’s hoping the agency is similarly detailed on this new effort nine months from now.

RECONSIDERED PRAISE: On Aug. 23, I examined General Assembly turnover data. That column included “a little praise for state Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, and state Reps. Mike Marron, R-Fithian, and Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, who recently announced they won’t seek reelection in 2024. All three men have committed to completing their terms and did so with enough time for candidates of all parties to mount clean, incumbent-free campaigns.

“These moves are refreshingly distinct from the mid-term resignation/appointment process, which often triggers downstream vacancies. Retiring without leaving voters a direct voice in your replacement shows sincere respect for the office.”

Some slight reconsideration is in order. On Monday, Marron announced he would be leaving his post earlier, resigning Dec. 18 to begin working as president and CEO of Vermilion Advantage, a chamber of commerce based in Danville.

“My new position is nonpartisan, and I am therefore removing myself from all political activity,” Marron said in a news release announcing the change.

That’s fair, but this choice still creates a vacancy, which means party officials will name a replacement who can enter the 2024 campaign as an incumbent, the end result being another person serving in Springfield without being directly elected – a problem made only worse when the departing lawmaker also has the political power to name their own replacement.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.

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