The Illinois Senate has passed an education funding plan that was approved late Monday by the House of Representatives. The compromise plan now goes to Governor Bruce Rauner who said Monday that there is plenty in the plan to celebrate.
The package includes about $415 million dollars in new money for Chicago schools. It also establishes a system to measure how much local schools need from the state, and creates a new scholarship tax credit to give some kids a choice on where they go to school.
Illinois schools opened this fall not knowing when they would receive their state aid payments. In Vermilion County, Treasurer Darren Duncan distributed $5.5 million dollars to the school districts about a month earlier than normal. Duncan said he was turning around the property tax money that had been collected as quickly as possible in order to help the cash-strapped school districts.
