Illinois Democratic legislators introduce bill to extend controversial private school tax credit program

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois House Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday that would extend a controversial private school tax credit for another five years, which supporters say could prevent thousands of children whose tuitions are funded through the program from having to leave their schools.

Originally signed into law by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017, the “Invest in Kids” program touches on the divisive issue of school vouchers and is one of the most hotly contested issues confronting Illinois lawmakers as they returned to Springfield this week for their final days of legislative session of 2023.

In addition to extending the program through 2028, the proposal introduced Tuesday would reduce maximum annual contributions awarded by the state to $50 million from $75 million. Instead of the 75% tax credit, the donors would get a 100% credit for the first $5,000 they contribute, then a maximum 65% tax credit for any additional amount if the children they sponsor live in underserved communities and a 55% credit if the children don’t.

The annual limit for tax credits of $1 million would also be reduced to $500,000.

The program is fiercely opposed by teachers unions. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who last week said he would support any measure that comes to his desk “to extend the program in whatever form,” on Tuesday sought to distance himself again from the program he once vowed to repeal.

“All I was pointing out was that the General Assembly needs to act first,” Pritzker said.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association accused Pritzker of choosing “to side with anti-public education Republican governors in other states” and “going against the values of the Democratic Party.”

In Chicago on Tuesday, Pritzker addressed questions about a social media post made by a union official, which was later deleted, comparing him to conservative Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida for his stated willingness to extend Invest in Kids.

“I am nothing like those two other governors,” Pritzker said. “People react in the moment as they do, and I forgive.”

It’s still unclear whether the new proposal can make it through the General Assembly. Democrats, who control both chambers of the legislature, remain divided on whether to keep the program for myriad reasons, including criticism that it hasn’t sufficiently lived up to its mission to benefit children from underserved communities.

Republican calls for extending the program during budget negotiations this spring were ignored by Democrats, who passed a budget without GOP support in either chamber. Despite the broad support for the program among Republicans, there’s been internal disagreements over how long they’d want to see the program keep running.

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie has said she supports extending the program for another five years and would also back efforts to make sure a certain portion of the money is targeted toward schools that serve large numbers of minority students.

“I think certainly the thought process and the shared priority between Republicans and Democrats is to extend the program, certainly not leaving any of the children on the hook right now that are in the program,” McCombie, of Savanna, said Tuesday. “I think that’s a big concern and a number one priority that it just doesn’t shut off for those that are involved in it.”

But members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus, the most conservative Republican House members who mainly hail from central or southeastern Illinois, slammed the new proposal as “a non-starter.”

“It will not make the program permanent, and it reduces the available funding for scholarships,” the caucus said in a statement. “The best course of action would be to extend the program and to expand it.”

Senate GOP Leader John Curran agrees the program should be expanded to meet the demands of the program’s current wait list. But in a statement, the Downers Grove Republican said, “I recognize to be successful in the legislative process requires compromise and (I) am in full support of the advocates’ compromise proposal filed today and their continued efforts to save scholarships for disadvantaged kids.”

Also Tuesday, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Democrat from Hillside, testified during a committee hearing on a bill he filed to allow General Assembly staffers to unionize.

“I think every single employee who wants to be in a union should have that opportunity,” Welch told his colleagues before the House Executive Committee.

The committee approved the measure 8 to 0. All four Republicans on the committee voted “present.”

Deputy Republican Leader Ryan Spain said he appreciates the work that all legislative staffers do, but he thinks the bill “still needs a lot of work” and he never heard House GOP staffers make the same complaints as their counterparts who work under Welch.

“It seems to be an issue entirely for the House Democratic Caucus,” said Spain, of Peoria. “This is not an issue within the House Republican staff.”

On another front, two Democratic lawmakers held a news conference to discuss a proposal that would create a path for compensating members of the soon-to-be elected board for the Chicago Public Schools, which is set to be fully in place by January 2027.

State Sen. Robert Martwick, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the legislation that created the elected school board, argued that people from parts of the city plagued by poverty need to have their voices heard on the board and they shouldn’t be expected to give up their regular jobs for a board seat.

“We cannot ask a person who’s working three jobs to give up one so that they can serve, otherwise they can’t serve. That’s wrong. We need to remove those barriers,” he said.

The legislation comes as Martwick is among several lawmakers trying to push for school board district maps to be drawn by April 1.

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(Petrella reported from Chicago.)

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