Governor Bruce Rauner wanted the Senate to approve his amendatory veto on school funding reform but they refused. Rauner’s plan would have increased funding for nearly every school district. But the massively complicated funding formula shows that Rauner’s plan seems to cut Chicago Public Schools funding by more than $450 million from the original Senate Bill 1. Yet the administration claims it’s closer to a $240 million cut. Any way you slice it the district that has 20 percent of the state’s students would only receive a 2 percent boost in education funding from the Republican. Rauner contends that Chicago has been running an unchecked education system for years and now will be forced to live within its means.



Critics of the plan point out that those districts that are losing students right now will face large cuts in funding in two years, when parts of Rauner’s plan begins to alter funding formulas.