Education

Education Funding Reform
Illinois is currently the 50th state in the nation in terms of equality in per-pupil funding between districts. We are also ranked 47th for the amount of funding provided by the state. This is due to our over reliance on property taxes.  School districts in wealthier areas are well funed while those in lower income areas are under funded.

The quality of a child's education should not depend on the wealth of their neighbors.

There is a better way.  I support House Bill 750, which would raise the income tax from 3% to 5%, providing a tax credit to those with income below $47,000, and provide essential property tax relief.  This will substantially increase base funding of schools while providing relief to those with high property taxes in proportion to their income, such as farmers and retired persons.

This is essential to reduce the inequities inherent in our current system.

Pension Preservation
Governor Blagojevich and Representative Jakobsson prefer to fund our education system by piecemeal, short term fixes at the expense of the teachers themselves. They have supported recent pension raids, which puts the retirement of teachers other other state employees at risk while increasing our future responsibility to the system. Illinois has the worst pension defecit in the nation. Jakobsson's solution? When the state's general revenues are estimated to be over 4% higher than the previous year, the state must put one-half of one percent of the revenue into a Pension Stabilization Fund. The Governor's Office of Management and Budget projects a 2.7% growth for next year, too low to "stabilize" our pensions. With a 4% growth, only about $127 million would go into the fund- far less than the $1.2 billion that was raided in 2006 and the $1.1 billion in 2007. This is no way to treat our teachers and no way to run a state. HB 750 would help prevent the pensions from being cannibalized to fund education.

Higher Education
As a recent graduate of the University, I understand the value of this great institution.  I will push for more state funding contrary to the recent trend of cuts. We should encourage the University of Illinois and other state schools to develop courses and programs in energy and sustainability. 
Paid for by People for Tom Abram, powered by 100% renewable energy.