Illinois

Paul Vallas: Illinois moves to eradicate parental choice

Published

2 years ago

June 2, 2023

Paul Vallas: Illinois moves to eradicate parental choice

Chalkbeat Chicago reports that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2024 budget, just approved in Springfield, adds another $570 million in education funding, a 6.2% increase that brings annual K-12 funding to $10.3 billion. And yet the legislature could not muster the courage to extend the modest Illinois Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program.

Illinois Education Association President Kathi Griffin, in now classic union fashion, has said that “once we get to fully funding our schools, then let’s talk about adding these types of programs.” Hogwash!

The scholarship programs, signed into law by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, costs the state $75 million, or less than 1% of annual state spending on K-12 public education. Analysis from Chalkbeat Chicago shows that since 2017 when the scholarship program was enacted, state funding for K-12 public schools has risen by $1.6 billion, with almost all of the new state funding going to districts with high percentages of students from low-income families.

An analysis of 2021 U.S. census data by Wirepoints shows that Illinois spends 20% to 60% more per pupil than its neighbors and other Midwestern states. At $18,316, Illinois ranks ninth in the nation on education funding per student. Teacher union-led efforts to block the scholarship programs renewal is a continuation of a campaign to eradicate competition to the traditional public education system that is defined by poor results, high taxes and little accountability.

What has the state to show for the increases in public school funding? State test scores that were low before COVID-19 have plummeted. The Illinois State Board of Education reports that 87% of students graduated in Illinois last year despite just 1 in 3 students taking the SAT at proficiency. Only 1 in 3 of all Illinois public school students, between third grade and eighth grade, could read at grade level on the state exam. For Black students, it’s closer to 1 in 10.

Closer to home, Chicago Public Schools spends almost $30,000 per pupil (including debt and capital payments), considerably more than the state average. The district reported record graduation rates last year. But the grim reality is that only 11% of Black and 17% of Latino CPS students, who make up almost four-fifths of enrollment, read at grade level, according to state data. This is a system failure issue, not a funding issue.

One would think that the well-documented strong performance of parochial and other private schools would compel the legislature to not only extend the successful Invest in Kids scholarship program but also make it permanent and even expand it. Not in Illinois.

Instead, state officials continue to genuflect to the self-serving whims of the same teachers unions that wreaked havoc on the lives and future prospects of our children by forcing draconian school lockdowns long after the science had concluded schools were safe to reopen. The damage to the well-being of children may never be fully repaired.

[ Willie Wilson: Unions can help reduce violence in Chicago with apprenticeships and jobs ]

We have seen more than two dozen states since 2019 enact or expand programs that support families electing to send their children to private schools. Thirty-one states and Puerto Rico now have state subsidized private parental choice programs.

Meanwhile, Illinois moves to eliminate its very modest private school choice program. Illinois would be one of the first states in the country to eliminate an existing parental choice program — this despite strong, post-pandemic public support for school choice in Illinois.

According to a poll conducted in the spring for the Illinois Policy Institute by Echelon Insights, 62% of Illinoisans support school choice compared to 28% who oppose it. Parents especially support parental choice, 70% to 21%, while nonparents favor it 57% to 33%. Nearly 60% of voters who were asked about the Invest in Kids program expressed approval.

A recent EdChoice survey found that 77% of Illinois parents and 70% of all Illinois adults support education savings accounts, or ESAs. These government-authorized savings accounts help pay for school tuition, tutoring, online education programs, therapies for students with special needs, and textbooks or other instructional materials, and they can be used to save for future college costs.

[ Cardinal Cupich: Lawmakers have the opportunity to improve education for all Illinois children ]

The assault on parental choice is not limited to private schools but extends to public schools as the state has all but blocked the creation of public charter schools. In Chicago, not only are the number of public charter schools capped but so is individual school enrollment. In addition, the 114 city public charter schools are effectively barred from even renting schools closed by the Rahm Emanuel administration. Meanwhile, the district imposes unfair financial obstacles to renting other buildings. This effectively forces a majority of Chicago charter school schools to educate children in inferior and often substandard buildings while dozens of public schools remain empty or are close to empty.

According to data from CPS’ 20th day enrollment from the 2020-21 school year, charter schools educate more than 54,000 school children in Chicago. In CPS, 1 in 4 high school students and 1 in 10 elementary students attend public nonprofit charter schools. More than 98% of the attendees are students of color, and more than 85% students receive free or reduced lunch.

Severely limiting their ability to access taxpayer-funded public buildings is a blatant form of discrimination. Along with teacher union attempts to end Invest in Kids, which benefits a disproportionate number of poor minority students, this constitutes educational redlining.

Given the enormous financial resources that the state commits to its K-12 public schools and with as much as 70% of local property tax revenue going to public schools, it’s high time to seriously consider offering parental choice on a major scale.

There is nothing progressive about keeping children’s education hostage because of their ZIP codes and families’ income.

Paul Vallas ran for Chicago mayor this year and in 2019 and was previously budget director for the city and CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

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Illinois

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Won’t Blame Refs for Michigan State Loss

Published

5 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Won’t Blame Refs for Michigan State Loss

For all the scowls, snarls and shouts coming from the Illinois sideline Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, Illini coach Brad Underwood was, by comparison, a picture of zen-like contentment by the time he hit the postgame presser following his club’s 80-78 loss to Michigan State.

“Anybody in here expected anything different?” Underwood said with a weary smile to open his remarks. “A good college basketball game.”

Many Illini fans thought not. Social media was bustling in the aftermath with hot takes howling over the foul calls against Illinois and memes clowning the game officials. Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis fouled out after just nine minutes of game action, and a critical technical foul was issued by referee Jeffrey Anderson on the Illinois bench in the late stages as the Illini were gamely clawing back into the game with Jakucionis on the sideline.

But when given the opportunity in his media session, Underwood – though disappointed – wouldn’t pile on.

“They teed our bench. Their guy was up, but our guys got the T,” Underwood said. “So I didn’t get the T – it was considered on our bench. Unfortunate. Two-point game. But Jeff’s a great official. He’s one of the best in the country.”

As for the whistles on Jakucionis, Underwood gave the officials further grace – mostly.

Kasparas Jakucionis fouled out with just three points on the day. pic.twitter.com/C39xjMWU5G
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 19, 2025

“I’m not gonna go there without … especially ’til I watch the film,” he said. “But the fourth one was awful. I’ll say that he got shoved in the back and pushed into a guy. And I mean, that one was just gross. Gross. I mean, how?”

If Underwood seemed oddly content as he offered his postgame thoughts, it’s likely because he could be observed extrapolating in real time what his Illini squad will be capable of when fully galvanized and facing something even slightly more favorable than Sunday’s dire game circumstances (including center Tomislav Ivisic playing through a nasty case of strep throat).

“I thought we handled a lot of tough situations today pretty well,” he said. “Best player in the game played [nine] minutes. You saw just a little bit of what he could do when he was in – just controlled the whole game with pick-and-rolls and passes. And, unfortunately, today he didn’t get a play.”

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Illinois

WATCH: Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Speaks After Win Over Illinois

Published

12 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

WATCH: Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Speaks After Win Over Illinois

EAST LANSING, Mich. — No. 12 Michigan State got the test that many were waiting for when it hosted No. 19 Illinois on Sunday afternoon.

The Spartans passed the test, defeating the Fighting Illini 80-78 with an admirable second-half effort.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who had been quite critical of his team after its win over Penn State on Wednesday, was in much better spirits in his postgame press conference on Sunday.

You can watch below:

Below is a partial transcript from Izzo’s opening statement of his presser:

Izzo: “Wow, just another day in paradise, I guess. But I hope our fans appreciated one of the better games. I mean, it was a crazy game, and I know we were both complaining about calls and this and that, but I thought two teams really competed. I said this before the game, and now I’ll say it after the game: I really do believe they’re the best team in the league right now. I’m not slighting us,I’m not sliding Purdue, I’m not slighting Michigan or anyone else. I just think, right now, that was a tough teamto play. And we did make some mistakes early that really bothered us, because they were scouting report mistakes. And then we missed some free throws early, and they made some shots. I mean, the kid, [Will] Riley, has not been playing well lately, and he had 16 and a halftime. He was unbelievable. And you have Kasparas [Jakucionis], got in foul trouble, that helped us, I mean, there’s no question about it. I love the kid [Dra] Gibbs-Lawhorn, tough. I mean, they play hard – [Morez] Johnson – they play hard, but we did a hell of a job on [Ben] Humrichous. … Had a lot of good players. I thought we did a decent job on [Kylan] Boswell. We didn’t take many 3s, it was because of the way they guarded. We thought we could go inside, we did. We weren’t very good in rebounding in the first 10 minutes of the game. They scored 26 points. Second 10, they scored 10 points, and we ended up losing the rebound battle by 1. But that team is really good; we’re both 1, 2 in the league in rebounding.”

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Illinois

3 Keys to an MSU Win Against Illinois

Published

20 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

The No. 12 Michigan State Spartans (15-2, 6-0) will be featured in a pivotal top 25 Big Ten matchup as they host the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini (13-4, 4-2) at the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon. For the Spartans to win their 11th-straight, they will need to accomplish these three keys.

Limit Illini Freshman Guard Kasparas Jakucionis

The Illini possess one of the top players in the country and projected first-round pick in next year’s NBA Draft. Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis is the real deal, leading the team in both points per game (16.7) and assists (5.4). He will be the one to cause issues against a strong Spartans defense.

Prior to joining Illinois, Jakucionis was the youngest person ever to play for the European powerhouse, Barcelona, of the ACB or Spanish Basketball Clubs Association. He holds strong experience overseas at the pro level and has the potential to be a star in the Big Ten and NBA.

It will be nearly impossible to silence the Illini’s best player, but slowing him down could be a factor in the game, especially with the lingering injury he may still have.

Jakucionis suffered a left forearm injury in the first week of January against Washington, missed the next two games, and quickly responded well with 21 points in their most recent game against Indiana. It will be telling in the first several minutes what his health status will be for the contest.

Spartans Three or More Scorers in Double Figures

The Spartans have thrived all season long in terms of scoring distribution and having multiple guys step up when they are needed. During their 10-game win streak, Michigan State has had three or more double-digit scorers in nine of those contests. They must find a way to get everyone involved.

The usual suspects have been senior guard Jaden Akins (14.2 ppg) and freshman guard Jase Richardson (9.6 ppg). It will be up to them to get the scoring started early and quickly work the rest of the roster into the scoring rotation, being effective all over the floor.

Keep Illini Under 80 Total Points

The biggest strength for this Illini team is its potent offensive attack. It is the No. 2 team in the conference in terms of average points per game at 87.3 and is the top team in the conference in point differential at +20. If the Spartans’ defense shows up, they will have a great chance to earn a win.

The magic number is 80 points for the Spartan defense. The Illini are 1-3 this season when scoring less than 80 points, the lone win coming against Oakland in a 66-54 final. They are an up-tempo group that must score big to win games.

With a Spartan offense that averages just over 81 points per game, they will need to hit their average while forcing a serviceable number of turnovers and keeping them off the board as much as. possible. Not to mention, the Illini are 14th in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (45%).

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