SPRINGFIELD – Some of Lake County’s most underfunded school districts will receive a significant boost under Illinois’ new education funding formula, Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) announced today.

Schools in Waukegan and North Chicago specifically will receive close to $17 million in new state support because they are among Illinois’ least funded districts and unable to adequately educate their students.

“When we passed education funding reform last year, we recognized that each school district in our state has unique needs that should be taken into consideration when we distribute funds,” Link said. “When these funds are released, the neediest districts will get the most funding, giving every student in Illinois an equal opportunity for a quality education.”

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) issued vouchers to the Illinois Comptroller today that clear the way for schools around the state to begin receiving money under the new evidence-based model.

ISBE worked with school districts and lawmakers for months to calculate the distribution, taking into account enrollment, district-specific student learning needs, available local resources and other data.

The overhaul of education funding reform passed by the Senate last year created a tiered system in which money is prioritized for the districts furthest from the adequacy target.  

No school district in the state received less money today than it did last year.

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Lake County News-Sun - February 2, 2018 | original article

By Jim Newton

Proposed state legislation to raise the purchasing age of tobacco to 21, a move several Lake County communities have already taken and others are studying, is sponsored by some local legislators and has the support of county health officials.

State Sen. Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills, one of the bill's sponsors, said this week that with tobacco use on the rise among teens for the first time in years, it is the perfect time to have a uniform age of 21 established for legally purchasing tobacco in Illinois. State Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, introduced the bill in the Senate.

Link said the proposed statewide law, known as "Tobacco 21," would increase the momentum of the Smoke Free Illinois law passed more than a decade ago that banned smoking in most public places. Lake County was also a leader in supporting and implementing that law.

"Smoke Free Illinois was a major step forward in improving the health of Illinoisans and making our state a better place to live," Link said. "Tobacco 21 builds on that effort by reducing the number of teen smokers and curbing the next generation of adult smokers, moving us one step closer to a healthier, smoke-free Illinois."

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) issued the following response to the governor’s budget address:

“We saw today that the governor is still refusing to propose meaningful solutions to solve Illinois’ financial problems and move the state forward. Instead of providing critical funding for our schools, the governor wants to shift more costs to our local governments, which would result in higher property taxes for Illinoisans. My constituents can’t afford Rauner’s cost-shifting shell game. They need the governor to take charge and be a real problem solver for our state.”

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Last week, Senator Link was pleased to welcome Jong-Kook Lee, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago, to the Illinois Senate. The Consulate General covers 13 Midwest states. The Midwest is home to more than 28,000 Korean-Americans, students and business people of Korea.