Gov. Pritzker Firmly Rejects Claim Chicago Public Schools Owed $1.1B by State

Illinois Governor maintains state does not owe CPS funds they are demanding

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker firmly denied Mayor Brandon Johnson's assertion that the state owes Chicago Public Schools (CPS) $1.1 billion, highlighting fiscal missteps and legislative funding frameworks.

CPS faces financial strain after incorporating temporary federal pandemic aid into its permanent budget. This temporary funding, now nearly exhausted, combined with recent overestimations of state tax revenue and a $170 million pension cost transfer from the city's budget, has left the district grappling with significant deficits. Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union continues to press for substantial contract terms.

Mayor Johnson has suggested interim borrowing for CPS but maintains that the state owes the district $1.1 billion. This claim, according to Gov. Pritzker and state officials, is unfounded.

The state's evidence-based funding (EBF) law, enacted in 2017, aimed to gradually increase funding to reach 90% adequacy for all districts, based on various factors including regional salaries and student demographics. This year, the state allocated $8.6 billion to EBF, with an annual increase of $350 million to eventually meet the 90% adequacy goal.

According to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), immediately funding all districts to 90% adequacy would have cost the state $2.5 billion last fiscal year, with CPS receiving $503 million. This figure falls far short of Johnson's $1.1 billion claim, which the ISBE states would only be relevant if the state funded schools at 100% adequacy, a provision not stipulated in current law.

The broader implementation of EBF at 100% adequacy for all Illinois public schools would have required an additional $4.85 billion from taxpayers last fiscal year. Johnson's spokesperson argued that Illinois provides nearly $3,000 more per student to other districts by fully covering their teacher pensions. This discrepancy, after accounting for existing state contributions to CPS pensions, suggests an additional requirement of $615 million, raising the total to approximately $5.5 billion.

Gov. Pritzker noted that, despite public assertions, Mayor Johnson has not directly requested the $1.1 billion funding. Pritzker emphasized that the responsibility for managing one-time federal aid lies with local governments, not the state.

"I don’t think that it’s Springfield's job to rescue school districts that might have been irresponsible with the one-time money they received," Pritzker stated. "Poor fiscal management on the part of a local government is not necessarily the responsibility of Springfield."