Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Calls For Statewide Education Reform

Caucus' bold statement positions education reform as 'top public priority'

By Mandy Burrell Booth
August 12, 2004

Certain back-to-school signs are hard to miss, such as store shelves freshly stocked with crayons and notebooks and Chicago ’s annual Bud Biliken Day Parade. Yet despite all of the fond memories associated with the back-to-school season, August also brings renewed urgency to the fact that more schools than ever across the state are deficit-spending and more Illinois schoolchildren fail to receive a quality education.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus – a coalition of 272 mayors serving 8 million people in the six-county metropolitan Chicago region – knows well that an excellent public education system is vital both to quality of life in Northeastern Illinois and to the state’s long-term economic competitiveness. The caucus also understands that the current system for funding education in Illinois is broken. The state constitution assigns Illinois “primary responsibility” for funding education, but the state currently covers only 34 percent of the cost. Some 59 percent of school funding comes from local taxpayers, meaning that a child’s education is dependent on the wealth of his or her community.

Recognizing that the time is now to fix the problem, the Mayors Caucus hosted a meeting Aug. 12 to discuss its top policy priority: reforming Illinois ’ education funding and school and student accountability systems.

At “A Conversation With the Chicago Region’s Mayors on Education Reform,” the caucus shared its position statement on education reform and school funding with regional and statewide organizations that also want change. The statement asserts that “the disparity in the current system of funding education in Illinois is unfair to the children” and that “funding reform and fiscal and performance accountability reform are not mutually exclusive … [but] need to be pursued on parallel paths.” The statement also includes short- and long-term goals for statewide education reform. Among these goals is that all school mandates from the state that require per pupil costs in excess of the foundation level be funded by the state, and that the foundation level be raised to $5,665 per pupil and adjusted annually for inflation.

The caucus invited a select group of school board officials, school administrators, teachers, state legislators, and business and civic organizations to speak at the meeting. A+ Illinois, represented by John S. Gates, Jr., was one of only three nonmunicipal organizations invited to share their perspectives on education reform. Gates, who is CEO of CenterPoint Properties and chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Board of Governors, commended the Mayors Caucus for placing the issue of education reform front and center in its priorities. He added that it is time state decisionmakers follow suit.

“I am deeply concerned about the challenges that public schools in the Chicago region are facing,” said Gates. “Yet for the past 30 years, we have witnessed serious political inaction from the state on the most fundamental issues affecting our public education system – and this is having tremendous consequences for state and local economies.”

“There are solutions,” Gates added. “We all need to call on our leaders to act now to invest in our children – the future of Illinois .”

An impressive number of municipalities, school districts, and business and civic organizations have adopted the Mayors Caucus’ position statement, creating a louder drumbeat for a real solution to Illinois ’ education woes. Supporters include the following nine councils of government, 55 municipalities, 10 school districts, and three business and civic organizations:

Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Participating Organizations

City of Chicago , Mayor Richard M. Daley
DuKane Mayors and Administrators
DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference
Lake County Municipal League
McHenry County Council of Governments
Northwest Municipal Conference
South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association
Southwest Conference of Mayors
West Central Municipal Conference
Will County Governmental League

Municipalities

Addison, Mayor Larry Hartwig
Algonquin, President John Schmitt
Arlington Heights , President Arlene J. Mulder
Barrington , President Marshall S. Reagle
Bartlett, President Catherine J. Melchert
Bedford Park , Mayor Ronald R. Robison
Beecher, President Paul Lohmann
Bloomingdale, President Robert Iden
Blue Island , Mayor Donald E. Peloquin
Broadview, President Henry Vicenik
Buffalo Grove , President Elliott Hartstein
Carol Stream , President Ross Ferraro
Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley
Crestwood, Mayor Chester Stranczek
Crete , President Michael S. Einhorn
East Hazel Crest, Mayor Thomas A. Brown
Elgin , Mayor Ed Schock
Elmhurst , Mayor Thomas D. Marcucci
Elmwood Park , President Peter N. Silvestri
Evanston , Mayor Lorraine H. Morton
Forest Park , Mayor Anthony Calderone
Forest View, President Richard S. Grenvich
Fox River Grove, President Stephen J. Tasch
Gilberts, President Everett Clark, Jr.
Hickory Hills, Mayor Michael Howley
Indian Head Park , President Richard F. Pellegrino
Lansing, President Daniel R. Podgorski
McHenry, Mayor Susan E. Low
Midlothian , President Thomas J. Murawski
Minooka, President C. Richard Ellis
Mokena, President Robert A. Chiszar
Monee, President Timothy O'Donnell
Montgomery, President Marilyn Michelini
Niles , President Nicholas B. Blase
Norridge , President Earl J. Field
Northlake, Mayor Jeffrey T. Sherwin
Oakbrook Terrace, Mayor Thomas S. Mazaika
Oak Park , President Joanne E. Trapani
Olympia Fields, President Linzey Jones
Orland Hills, President Kyle R. Hastings
Orland Park , Mayor Daniel J. McLaughlin
Palatine , Mayor Rita L. Mullins
Palos Hills , Mayor Gerald R. Bennett
Palos Park , Mayor Carolyn Baca
Riverside , President Harold J. Wiaduck
Romeoville , President Fred DeWald, Jr.
Roselle , President Gayle Smolinski
Round Lake Park , President Ila M. Bauer
Sleepy Hollow, President Stephen K. Pickett
South Elgin , President James W. Hansen, II
Stickney, President Donald J. Tabor
Summit , President Joseph W. Strzelczyk
Western Springs, President John Kravcik
Woodstock , Mayor Alan D. Cornue
Worth, President Edward Guzdziol

School Districts

Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C
Lincoln Way High School District 210
Marengo-Union Consolidated District 165
Mokena Public Schools District 159
Palatine Consolidated District 15
Prospect Heights School District 23
Richland School District 88A
Township High School District 214 (Buffalo Grove HS, Elk Grove HS, Hersey HS, Prospect HS, Rolling Meadows HS and Wheeling HS)
Woodstock District 200

Other Organizations

Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce
McHenry County Economic Development Corporation
North Central Illinois Mayors Association

A+ Illinois compliments these municipal officials, school districts, and business and civic organizations for their leadership in getting the issues of school quality and accountability, adequate school funding, and property tax reform on the front burner for all state officials. A+ Illinois looks forward to working closely with mayors and other local leaders to lead an aggressive communications campaign, highlighting the terrible choices too many schools are forced to make. Together, we will make positive change inevitable.