The Illinois House of Representatives is debating a revolutionary school choice bill today that could ease state budget pressures while saving thousands of children from the perils of a crumbling public education system.

The bill, Senate Bill 2494, would give parents in underperforming Chicago school districts a voucher to cover educational expenses at nonpublic schools. Essentially, rather than pursuing the tired agenda of shoveling more taxpayer dollars into failing schools, SB 2494 would allow the money to follow the student to a school of his or her parents’ choice. The Illinois Policy Institute has a detailed breakdown of the bill’s major provisions, a few of which I’ll summarize.

With Illinois’ budget shortfall approaching $12 billion, some anti-reform activists are claiming this bill would increase government spending. That is patently false; the amount of each voucher will be equal to either the current level of per pupil spending or the cost of tuition, whichever is less. No new bureaucratic institutions will be created to administer the program.

Students currently trapped in failing schools will be given a lifeline. Vouchers will be available to kids in the lowest-performing 10 percent of Chicago Public Schools. Students in the state’s most overcrowded 5 percent of schools will also be offered vouchers. Over time, we only hope that the voucher program can be expanded in Chicago and statewide, injecting competition and accountability into the education marketplace.

Newspapers across the state have endorsed SB 2494. So has the Wall Street Journal. School choice should be a no-brainer for the Illinois House. Whether you live in the state or are concerned about the trajectory our national public education system is following, call the provided list of target legislators listed below and tell them to vote yes for a sensible budgetary policy, and yes for the future of Chicago’s low-income children.

See the list of targets below.

 

Representative

District

Capitol Number

District Number

Elizabeth Coulson

17

(217) 782-4194

(847) 724-3233

Michael P. McAuliffe

20

(217) 782-8182

(773) 792-0749

Sandra M. Pihos

42

(217) 782-8037

(630) 858-8855

Franco Coladipietro

45

(217) 782-8158

(217) 782-8158

Dennis M. Reboletti

46

(217) 782-4014

(630) 530-2730

Kay Hatcher

50

(217) 782-1486

(630) 553-3223

Sidney H. Mathias

53

(217) 782-1664

(847) 222-0061

Suzanne Bassi

54

(217) 782-8026

(847) 776-1880

JoAnn D. Osmond

61

(217) 782-8151

(847) 838-6200

Sandy Cole

62

(217) 782-7320

(847) 543-0062

Rosemary Mulligan

65

(217) 782-8007

(847) 297-6533

Ronald A. Wait

69

(217) 782-0548

(815) 547-7771

Robert W. Pritchard

70

(217) 782-0425

(815) 748-3494

David R. Leitch

73

(217) 782-8108

(309) 690-7373

Donald L. Moffitt

74

(217) 782-8032

(309) 343-8000

Angelo Saviano

77

(217) 782-3374

(708) 453-7547

Renée Kosel

81

(217) 782-0424

(708) 479-4200

Jim Durkin

82

(217) 782-0494

(708) 352-7700

Bill Mitchell

87

(217) 782-8163

(217) 876-1968

Dan Brady

88

(217) 782-1118

(309) 662-1100

Jim Sacia

89

(217) 782-8186

(815) 232-0774

Jerry L. Mitchell

90

(217) 782-0535

(815) 625-0820

Jil Tracy

93

(217) 782-8096

(217) 223-0833

Richard P. Myers

94

(217) 782-0416

(309) 836-2707

Mike Fortner

95

(217) 782-1653

(630) 293-9344

Raymond Poe

99

(217) 782-0044

 

Rich Brauer

100

(217) 782-0053

 

Ron Stephens

102

(217) 782-6401

(618) 651-0405

William B. Black

104

(217) 782-4811

(217) 431-1986

Keith P. Sommer

106

(217) 782-0221

(309) 263-9242

John D. Cavaletto

107

(217) 782-0066

(618) 548-9080

David Reis

108

(217) 782-2087

(618) 392-0108

Roger L. Eddy

109

(217) 558-1040

(618) 563-4128

Chapin Rose

110

(217) 558-1006

(217) 348-7673