Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop Harbor) voted against the recently passed compromise school funding reform measure because it kept special considerations for Chicago Public Schools and did not provide enough property tax relief, she said in a statement.
“In recent months, numerous people have said, ‘Don’t sacrifice the good for the perfect,’ which is a reasonable statement,” Jesiel wrote. “…As I wrestled with how to vote on this new proposal, this wasn’t a choice between the good and the perfect; this was a choice between the mediocre and the bad. After spending so much time working on such an important issue, I couldn’t in good faith vote for something with such far-reaching implications which ultimately falls well short of its intended goal.”
Jesiel served on a commission organized by Gov. Bruce Rauner to determine the reforms needed for Illinois school funding and was a strong proponent of an evidence-based funding model. The final bill, while moving the state to an evidence-based model, did not provide enough mandate relief or property tax relief to garner Jesiel’s support, she said.
Rep. Sheri Jesiel (R-Winthrop Harbor)
| http://www.sherijesiel.com/p/about.html
“Regardless of my vote, this school funding overhaul is going forward and I sincerely hope it produces positive results for school children in Illinois,” Jesiel wrote. “If -- as I fear -- it doesn’t, in 10 or 15 years the legislature will be doing this all over again after letting down another generation of young Illinois students.”
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