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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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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SPRINGFIELD – Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) released the following response to Governor Rauner’s State of the State address:

“After three years in office, I would've liked to have heard concrete plans from the governor on how he's going to take charge and move our state forward. Calls for bipartisanship are empty when they come from a governor who has consistently refused to compromise on important issues, resulting in chaos for residents and organizations in my district and across the state. I hope the governor finally chooses to heed his own advice to roll up his sleeves and work across the aisle because the people of Illinois can't afford another year under a governor who fails to lead.”

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SPRINGFIELD – With tobacco use on the rise among teens for the first time in years, Senator Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) is sponsoring a proposal to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21 years old.

“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.”

It has been more than 10 years since Link’s Smoke Free Illinois legislation banning smoking in most public places went in to effect. Since Smoke Free Illinois, there has been a 20 percent decrease in hospitalization of various smoking-related diseases. But with the advent of e-cigarettes, tobacco use among teenagers is on the rise for the first time in years.

“More than 90 percent of smokers start before the age of 21,” Link said. “We must do everything possible to curb teen use and protect the lives of adolescent Illinoisans. Tobacco 21 will help us do that.”

Limiting access to cigarettes has proven effective in reducing the rate of tobacco use among teens. In October 2014, Evanston became the first Illinois community to adopt Tobacco 21. Since then, tobacco use among high schoolers has dropped by 37.5 percent.

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