House Speaker Chris Welch recently pledged to lead an effort during the fall veto session to provide additional state funding for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), renewing debate over how Illinois should invest in public education. Speaking to the Chicago Teachers Union, the Speaker said he supports providing more revenue for CPS and committed to leading the effort for supplemental funding during the November veto session.
While additional investment in public education remains a priority, Senate Republicans maintain that any new funding should be distributed through Illinois’ Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula, the bipartisan system designed to allocate resources based on student need rather than political influence.
The Evidence-Based Funding formula was created to ensure school districts across Illinois receive state support in a fair and equitable manner. Hundreds of districts remain below full funding under the formula, and lawmakers estimate it would take billions of dollars to fully fund EBF statewide.
Rather than providing supplemental funding to a single district, Senator Jacobs believes additional education dollars should strengthen the statewide formula so every underfunded school district has the opportunity to benefit.
He also notes that Chicago Public Schools already received special accommodations when the Evidence-Based Funding formula was adopted, including additional state support for the normal cost of teacher pensions. Senator Jacobs argues that existing provisions reinforce the importance of continuing to use the statewide formula rather than creating district-specific funding packages.