Pritzker says he won’t support new state taxes for CPS
[August 04, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Following the recent passage of Chicago Public
Schools’ $9.96 billion budget, state leaders and lawmakers have had
mixed reactions to the board’s inclusion of an unguaranteed $435 million
in taxpayer funding.
After hours of deliberation, board members voted on the day of the
budget’s deadline to pass the spending package which initially relied
upon an assumed $285 million in the form of surplus funds from the
city’s Tax Increment Financing districts.
The final version included an amendment from board members aligned with
the Chicago Teachers Union, which agreed the state should provide the
district with an additional $150 million to assist in covering the
district’s deficit.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told members of CTU a day
before the board’s vote that he’s committed to putting forward
legislation to give CPS more state funds, but didn’t mention how much he
thought the state could provide.
“I will lead that effort in the veto session. We got two weeks in
November that we can get it done and you got my support 100%,” Welch
said.
The amendment meant the budget wouldn’t rely on nearly 2,000 teacher and
staff layoffs.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker didn’t go as far as to say he supports the budget’s
inclusion of assumed state funding, which he would have to approve.
“If the speaker has a plan for it, I think that that will be a terrific
one for us to hear and, if he wants to get it through the legislature,
he's going to have to propose that,” Pritzker said.
Supporters at the budget meeting argued Springfield “owed” the money –
referring to the state’s evidence based funding formula, which aims to
have public schools funded at 90% adequacy by 2027.
As of May, State Board of Education officials told lawmakers only about
37% of districts statewide reach the target under the formula, and it
would cost the state an additional $3 billion to reach the target.
Bryce Hill, director of fiscal and economic analysis at the Illinois
Policy Institute noted that there’s a fluctuation in the amount of
funding the district receives, which has played into the deficit.
[to top of second column]
|
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at a podium. Photo: Greg Bishop /
The Center Square
“When [the CTU and board members] mention adequacy, the adequacy
rate is declining. It doesn’t reflect that there’s fewer dollars
available from the state in most cases,” Hill said. “What it
reflects is a change in the composition of the student population.”
He also noted the district has held steady at peak revenues and the
district should have more funds for a budget than ever before, but
spending continues to outpace it.
Welch would need to find support outside of Chicago in order to have
state lawmakers pass additional funds during the November veto
session.
Only 35 of the 118 House members represent Chicago, meaning another
25 lawmakers would have to vote in favor of additional state
spending that their district won’t see if a bill were to pass the
House.
Another 13 votes from non-Chicago Senators would be needed for it to
pass the higher chamber.
State lawmakers proposed a bill requiring all schools be funded at
100% adequacy in the state budget passed this spring. The bill
didn’t progress, as it would likely raise taxes on state residents.
Pritzker said he doesn’t want to raise taxes, regardless of if the
legislature were to move forward with a plan to give CPS funds they
assumed in their budget.
“I'm not going to raise taxes on working families. That is a
principle I will not breach. But I think that there are perhaps
other things that the speaker has in mind,” Pritzker said.
 |
