Illinois Valley Times

Gov. Bruce Rauner took no time to make school funding fair in Illinois, according to Rep. Jerry Long (R-Streator), and Long is hoping his colleagues will do the same.

“I want to commend the governor on the swift action he took once Senate Bill 1 reached his desk,” Long said in a press release. “Now I ask my colleagues in the legislature to act with that same sense of urgency.”

Long said that more than 850 school districts in the state will have proper funding with Rauner’s recommended changes to SB1, the state's K-12 funding bill. Rauner used an amendatory veto to strip the measure of provisions he felt were unfairly favorable to Chicago schools. 

“Prior to his veto, Senate Bill 1 would have directed 64 percent of all new funding, laid out for all of K-12 statewide, to Chicago despite the fact that they only educate 19 percent of Illinois students,” Long said in his statement. “Accepting Senate Bill 1 for what it was prior to his veto meant leaving millions on the table when they could be spent educating the future of our community."

SB1 was sent back with the General Assembly to either accept it in its amended form or attempt an override of Rauner's veto.