When it comes to school vouchers Pritzker has done more twists than Chubby Checker.
When it comes to the issue of school vouchers Governor Pritzker is more like Governor Pretzel.
He’s done more twists than Chubby Checker.
Rich Miller wrote: “With his latest comments Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has taken almost every possible position imaginable on the Invest in Kids Act.”
I’m in agreement with IEA President Al Llorens and AFT President Dan Montgomery on this issue. In a joint statement on extending the Invest in Kids voucher program Llorens and Montgomery wrote:
Governor Pritzker has chosen to side with anti-public education governors in other states with his support of vouchers. The recent data from Chicago, where 43 percent of schools benefiting from Invest in Kids funds had ZERO Black voucher students, paints a stark picture of the exclusionary trend perpetuated by the current voucher system. Illinois cannot afford to support two school systems – one, a public system where schools are held accountable, educate ALL students, and exist for the common good, and a second that does none of this. The situation highlights a disturbing disparity that cannot be ignored. It serves as a reminder of the harmful policies implemented by former Governor Bruce Rauner and underscores the urgent need for Governor Pritzker to reconsider his position on vouchers.
What is Invest in Kids?
It is a state program that provides $75 million in income tax credits for those who donate to organizations that then provide scholarship money for private and parochial school students.
It’s a redistribution of public school funds from public schools to private and parochial schools. The original bill passed under Bruce Rauner was the brain child of the Illinois Policy Institute and the Catholic Church.
What is JB Pritzker doing being anywhere near this crap?
Rich Miller again:
The leaders of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association have mostly stayed quiet while Pritzker flipped all over the place. Not after that vow, though. The teachers’ union presidents issued a joint statement the following morning: “Governor Pritzker has chosen to side with anti-public education Republican governors in other states with his support of vouchers, going against the values of the Democratic Party, which clearly stands opposed to vouchers.”
Recent statewide polls conducted for proponents have shown strong support for the tax credit-based scholarships. But few people actually believe that the tax credit program will be approved during veto session. So, this Pritzker statement could be considered a relatively safe political punt to the General Assembly that was too late to change many minds.
More importantly, Democratic legislators now have a preview of what the unions will say about them if they do vote to keep the program alive.
So, is something hinky going on here?
Or just something typically Illinois?
Pritzker has been all over the map on the issue of extending Invest in Kids, a bill that couldn’t pass in the regular session of the General Assembly and which Miller thinks won’t pass in the current veto session either.
The two Illinois teacher unions have been relatively quiet on the bill and Pritzker’s flip flops until now.
The IFT and the IEA leadership are good at keeping a low profile unless the outcome is already determined.
As in the fight to preserve public pensions, both unions had to be dragged into the fight.
On the other hand, I hope their calculations are right and Invest in Kids, in whatever form, dies in the veto session.