Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s success on major legislation last year may not translate into passage of his top priority this year: eliminating the Illinois State Board of Education, which he’s compared to a “Soviet-style” bureaucracy.
On every major victory last year, the governor had the backing of both Democratic legislative leaders, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones. House GOP Leader Tom Cross also supported several of the bills.
Big business lobbyists were instrumental in passing the governor’s $10 billion pension bailout bill after the governor agreed to take some tax hikes off the table. That backing helped the governor pick up a few Senate Republican votes.
Blagojevich’s State Board of Education proposal is different. If the governor thought he could destroy the state Board with one fell swoop, he has failed. Nobody is running for the exits like they did last year when he pledged to veto any gambling expansion bill.
It doesn’t help that the governor really doesn’t have the facts on his side. The Board’s state-funded administration costs are only about 0.3 percent of all money spent on education. And local school administration costs are only a piddling 2.5 percent of all education spending.
The governor made a big deal about how only 46 percent of all education money found its way into the classroom, but he was either horribly misinformed or deliberately skewed the numbers. That 46 percent is, basically, teacher salaries. It doesn’t include textbooks, school supplies, computers, heat, speech teachers and teacher pension payments — all integral aspects of classroom funding.
Unlike last year, when he had the backing of both Dem leaders, neither Jones nor Madigan is enamored with his education proposal. Jones, a true fighter for school funding, is not convinced that the proposal will make much difference. And the people surrounding Madigan appear to be almost overtly hostile to the proposal. Republican Cross has also been keeping his powder dry.
Jones’s top schools priority has been to treat education funding as an entitlement. For years, schools usually got whatever was left over after non-education programs were funded. Jones would reverse that and fund schools with specific levels and increases built in.
Trouble is, the governor’s plan draws attention away from any increase in education funding. Instead of giving schools new money, he’ll claim he can save millions by eliminating the board.
Chicago journalist Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter.
This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2004.
