Dupage Policy Journal

Deep concerns have surfaced since the introduction of Senate Bill 1, as some individuals said it will create an unbalanced redistribution of education resources, causing school districts to compete against each other.

"Though lawmakers acknowledge the need to reform Illinois’ school-funding formula, many have voiced concerns about any legislation that simply shifts current disparities and continues to create 'winners' and 'losers' among Illinois schools," State Sen. Christine Radogno (R-41st) recently said on her website.

The bill is modeled after Senate Bill 16.

Those opposed to the bill said certain provisions may be repetitive or ineffective, such as a study previously conducted by the Education Funding Advisory Board every two years.

Senate Bill 1 also restructures how poverty is calculated and would use the Department of Human Services’ low-income counts to calculate poverty, or those students at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

"This formula has been proven to produce larger, potentially unsustainable poverty counts," Radogno said. "Under the provisions of Senate Bill 16, poverty was based on free and reduced lunch counts (generally students at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level)."

A $500 million spending increase has been requested to deal with changes to the legislation.