Chapter 13: Illinois

Article X, Section 1 of The Constitution of the State of Illinois¹, amended in 1970, sets forth the primary goals for the funding of public education. It simply states:

Four key elements of Article X are:

While simple in concept, these key elements have been elusive for Illinois from the beginning, and legal attempts to challenge the state’s funding of public education have been unsuccessful due to the opening phrase—“A fundamental goal…” Since a goal is something to reached in the future, courts have not considered a lawsuit that would mandate the legislature to accomplish the goal. Therefore, state spending on education in Illinois provided only 37.5% of all funds for public education in FY2020, thereby hindering the ability to achieve equitable or adequate educational opportunities for all children. Inequity is advanced with continuing dependence on local property taxes. “Illinois has the second highest property taxes in the nation.”²