Illinois

Teachers unions pushing bills to damage Illinois charter schools

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2025

Teachers unions pushing bills to damage Illinois charter schools

Bills filed in the Illinois General Assembly would lay the groundwork to close charter schools or place more restrictions on them. Illinois has a history of restricting charter schools at the behest of teachers unions.

Illinois parents, especially low-income parents, are facing yet another assault on their educational freedom with an attack on charter schools.

Teachers unions got state lawmakers to kill the Invest in Kids program, which allowed 15,000 low-income students to attend private schools. Now they are attacking Illinois’ public charter schools, where 85% of students are low income.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, filed House Bill 1387 to create a clear transition procedure for charter school closures and consolidations, paving the way for the eventual shutdown of charter schools in Illinois. The bill also prohibits organizations that already operate private, religious or non-public schools from operating a charter school.

State Sens. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, and Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, filed a companion bill, Senate Bill 144, which seeks to do the same damage to charter schools as HB 1387.

The sponsors of the two bills have all taken money from the Chicago Teachers Union. CTU has a history of denying access to charter schools for Chicago families, so it comes as no surprise that CTU-backed lawmakers have introduced legislation to weaken and regulate charter schools throughout the state.

What’s in the bills?

The bills seek to amend the Illinois School Code to create more regulations around who can be granted a charter to operate a charter school, how charter schools spend their budget and what a transition plan looks like for the closure or consolidation of a charter school.

Current statute does not allow an existing private, parochial or non-public school to be converted into a charter school. But organizations which operate those schools would be eligible to start a new charter school.

The bills seek to stop that by forbidding any organizations which operates a private, parochial or non-public school or child care facility from being granted a charter to open a new charter school.

The bills also seek to control how charter schools spend money. The school code currently allows charter schools to manage and operate their finances, including preparing their budgets. But the bills would create regulations around charter schools’ budgets, requiring charter schools to spend no less than 90% of their budget on direct-service costs for students.

The bills also begin laying the groundwork for the eventual elimination of charter schools by creating a process for closing or consolidating charter schools. This includes requiring local school districts to collaborate with charter schools facing closure to ensure every charter student gets a seat at the public school and all teachers at a closing charter school are guaranteed a job at the public school.

Illinois state law already hinders charter school growth and innovation

Illinois’ charter school provisions already impose a limit on the number of charter schools allowed to operate in the state.

The law currently caps the number of charter schools at 120, with no more than 70 allowed to operate in Chicago. However, many charter schools operate multiple campuses under the same charter agreement.

Teachers unions such as CTU have fought to keep charter schools from growing – both in collective bargaining agreements and in lobbying.

The current bills have much in common with some of CTU’s demands in its ongoing contract negotiations with Chicago Public Schools. The initial demands from CTU included multiple provisions to undermine charter schools in Chicago, including requiring charter schools to spend no less than 90% of their budgets on direct-service spending on students and directing the Chicago Board of Education to adopt clear procedures for charter school closures and reabsorption.

Limiting charter schools, then unionizing them to eliminate them are all part of CTU’s admitted strategy to deny parents alternatives to the educational product the union churns out. Acero Charter Schools announced it would close 7 of its 15 charter schools after CTU applied that strategy to them.

In negotiating the past two teacher contracts with CPS, CTU required a moratorium on the growth of charter schools. CTU has worked to prevent the growth of charter schools as well as the number of students who can choose them.

The union works against charter schools at the Statehouse as well. It opposed bills which would expand charter access and lobbied in favor of extended moratoriums on the creation of certain charters. It pushed for prohibitions on opening charter schools in any ZIP code in which a public school was closed in the previous 10 years or in ZIP codes contiguous to a ZIP code where a public school was closed.

Clearly, lobbying against the growth and flourishing of charter schools by CTU impacts the whole state, limiting parents’ options from East St. Louis to Rockford.

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Illinois

New Illinois bill aims to overhaul public defense system | The Chicago Report

Published

4 hours ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

New Illinois bill aims to overhaul public defense system | The Chicago Report

A major overhaul to the Illinois justice system could be officially underway.
House Bill 3363 lays the foundation for a brand new agency, the state public defender office.
The goal is to bring more consistent legal representation for Illinois residents who can’t afford an attorney.
Joining us now to discuss the rolled-out timeline is the bill’s sponsor, State representative Dave Vella, who actually started his legal career as a public defender, before heading to Springfield.

Posted June 26, 2026 7:06pm CDT

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Illinois

Illinois Democrats face backlash after blaming Trump in Chicago cross-burning case | Fox News Video

Published

15 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Illinois Democrats face backlash after blaming Trump in Chicago cross-burning case | Fox News Video

‘Outnumbered’ reacts to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blaming President Donald Trump for a cross-burning incident in Grant Park.

Illinois Democratic leaders Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson are slammed for weaponizing a Chicago cross burning incident by blaming former President Trump. Despite the suspect, Murlin Lue, admitting his motive was to protest Trump, not racism, Pritzker and Johnson doubled down. Critics, including Illinois GOP State Rep. Chris Miller, accuse them of playing politics and fostering division rather than seeking truth.

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Illinois

Illinois Lt. Gov. candidates focus on affordability in pitch to Rockford voters

Published

1 day ago

June 26, 2026

Press Room

Illinois Lt. Gov. candidates focus on affordability in pitch to Rockford voters

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – November ballots will feature a repeat of top billing in the race for governor. Illinoisans can once again choose between Governor JB Pritzker or Darren Bailey to lead the Land of Lincoln.

But beside their spots, new names will appear for voters.

The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor picked new running mates for their rematch. With Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton running for U.S. Senate, Pritzker picked Christian Mitchell to join his ticket. On the Republican side, Aaron Del Mar joins Bailey, who previously ran with Stephanie Trussell in 2022.

Mitchell and Del Mar spoke Thursday with WIFR on what inspires them to run, their campaign priorities and ideas to improve the Rockford region.

Backgrounds

Starting with the Democratic ticket, Mitchell joins the race as a former state representative from Chicago as well as a deputy governor with the Pritzker administration.

“Before anything else, I’m Debbie’s son, and I’m James’s grandson,” Mitchell introduced. “They’re the ones who really instilled in me the value of hard work and made sure that I was going to have a very bright future.”

Mitchell sees the role of lieutenant governor as a partner to the state’s executive.

“I’m really lucky to be running with somebody who I respect, and who I think is the best governor in the nation… Governor JB Pritzker,” he said.. “My first thing is going to be supporting his agenda, which right now is all about lowering costs and raising wages.”

On the Republican side, Del Mar hails from suburban Chicago and considers his first priority to be raising his family.

“I wanted nothing to do with politics, did not want to be involved — wanted just to raise my kids and work my job,“ said Del Mar. He described his start in public service as something he ”kind of got pulled into.”

The Republican worked his way from a city council member in Palatine, at 29-years-old, to co-chair of the Illinois GOP. Although he says he “wanted nothing to do with being on” Bailey’s campaign, Del Mar sees strength in unity — offering a Chicago area perspective alongside Bailey’s southern Illinois roots.

“How about everybody in the state of Illinois, regardless of where you come from, has a seat at the table. If you’re from a southeast farming community, or you’re from the city of Chicago, where I grew up, everybody has a stake in the game.”

Priorities

Mitchell points to economic development as his focus for the gubernatorial campaign.

“I see vacancies on State Street in Chicago. I see vacancies on Main Street in Belleville and Alton and in Carbondale,” he recounted. “I want to make sure that we’ve got the kind of amenities and economic development, that kind of affordability, that allow us to make sure that folks want to stay in the towns that they’re born in if they want to.”

The Democratic candidate also eyes long-term planning for the state, including an “Illinois 2050 Plan.”

“How do we have the kind of educational undergirding that means that no matter where you’re from, you have a chance to have one of those jobs, whether it’s in new agriculture technology and new farming techniques or biotech, quantum.”

When asked how to achieve these priorities, Mitchell turned to investing in public education, retaining residents with better wages and improving health care.

“Making sure that we are able to protect our health care system, so that folks aren’t going broke when they get sick, that’s another big way that we can make an impact.”

Del Mar outlined a cost-of-living focus as central to his campaign.

“You wanna succeed, you do the basics really well, and the basics are affordability,” he contended.

The Republican repeatedly highlighted the state’s property taxes — reportedly the highest in the nation — as an issue to tackle. He suggested redirecting Illinois’s budget as one measure to ease the burden on homeowners.

“Number one is fully funding the state’s portion of local taxes, because that will offer people property tax relief.” Del Mar clarified this wouldn’t mean redirecting funds for public education.

“We’re looking at how we fund schools, how we make sure to empower teachers to have the best educational outcomes that we can have here in Illinois, regardless of what your zip code is, regardless of what your parents do for a living or how much money they make,” added Del Mar.

Reflecting on Rockford

Each candidate provided their vision for boosting the Rockford region.

For Mitchell, improvements continue with infrastructure funding, building on the state’s roughly $500 million investment in the area.

“The things that we have already worked on, through the capital plan that I helped lead as deputy governor, that the governor signed and is implementing, are already having benefits that the people of Rockford can see.”

The Democrat also pointed to the Chicago Rockford International Airport as an opportunity.

“Investing in that regional airport where we’ve already helped with a matching grant to get additional funds, that helps build out the economy,” said Mitchell. “There’s so much that’s happening there that it is really good for the economy and bringing more people back to Rockford.”

Del Mar shared his local priority as supporting unionization in the area.

“Union families deserve to be able to have a livable wage, and that’s something that’s important to Darren and I,” said Del Mar. He mentioned pensions were another item that a Republican executive wouldn’t touch for the public and private sector unions.

“I know that area up there has strong union backbone,” described Del Mar. “We want to make sure they know that they’re not going to have a bigger supporter in the governor’s mansion than Darren and I.”