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State School Plan Bets on a Lottery Windfall: Republicans Call Governor's Bid Shortsighted

Posted on: Saturday, 3 June 2006, 00:00 CDT

By John Chase and Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune

May 24--Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday proposed selling or leasing the state lottery to fund school reforms, a plan Republicans said would squander a dependable source of cash just to boost his re-election campaign.

Blagojevich's proposal, which would have to be approved by the legislature in the fall, counts on a $10 billion windfall from shedding the three-decade-old Illinois Lottery.

Some $4 billion of that would be spent over the next four years for classroom programs, school construction, expanded preschool and full-day kindergarten, merit pay for teachers and new textbooks. That money would also be used to help failing students and schools.

Another $6 billion would be invested. The income from those investments would bring in $650 million each year through 2024, making up for the loss of the money the lottery now brings in for schools, Blagojevich said.

"This education plan is historic," Blagojevich said in unveiling the proposal at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport. "It's ambitious, and it fundamentally will change the way we educate our kids in Illinois and fundamentally change the way we fund our schools in Illinois."

But critics said the governor's plan, shown to members of the education community on a PowerPoint demonstration, consisted more of themes than details. Some reform activists said it failed to go to the heart of resolving the disparities in funding among local school districts caused by their dependence on local property taxes.

"We have serious concerns about the plan put on the table, because it does nothing to reduce the reliance on property taxes," said Bindu Batchu, campaign manager for A+ Illinois, a statewide organization pushing for reform of school funding.

The governor negotiated the school plan with state Sen. James Meeks, a Democratic-aligned independent lawmaker who had considered a third-party challenge that could have threatened Blagojevich's re-election. Republican governor candidate Judy Baar Topinka has complained that Meeks was bought off the November ballot with the education proposal, and the South Side lawmaker did little on Tuesday to dispel that notion.

What Blagojevich told Meeks

Meeks said that during his negotiations with Blagojevich, the governor "looked me straight in the eye, and he said, 'I can't do 'em if I'm not re-elected.' And so I said to him, 'OK, fine, I know what you're trying to say.'"

Blagojevich aides, however, said the governor had been working on an education plan long before Meeks had issued his threat to enter the race for governor unless Blagojevich came up with a comprehensive four-year plan for schools. Blagojevich accused those who questioned the timing of the proposal--which was announced the day before Meeks was to have begun gathering candidacy petition signatures--of being "cynical."

Several leading Democrats appeared with Blagojevich to support the proposal, including Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) and key members of legislative education panels.

When Blagojevich was asked if he would call the Democratic-dominated General Assembly into special session to consider the proposal, Jones issued an emphatic "no." Instead, Blagojevich and his aides said the package would not be ready until the fall veto session--which is scheduled to begin one week after voters decide Blagojevich's re-election fate on Nov. 7.

"Undoubtedly there will be those who will criticize this plan," Blagojevich said. "But in the final analysis, being a leader means offering ideas and offering solutions. And being a leader means being willing to take the criticisms and the risks."

State Sen. Miguel del Valle, vice chairman of the Senate Education Committee, called the proposal "probably the largest step [in reform] I've seen since joining the Illinois General Assembly."

Blagojevich's plan would pump as much as $4.5 billion into schools from the sale of the lottery over the next four years, compared to the roughly $2.6 billion that would have been generated by the lottery as a state-run entity.

What happens after 2024

But Blagojevich did not address how the state would make up the potential $2 billion falloff in revenue for schools after his four-year plan had ended. At the same time, getting rid of the lottery would mean the state would no longer see growth in revenue from ticket sales. If sold outright, the state would not see another dollar from the lottery after 2024, according to the plan.

Republicans, seeking to boost Topinka's candidacy and discredit Democratic lawmakers, seized on Blagojevich's proposal as representative of a governor known for offering grandiose programs with little follow-through.

"We know it's not real," said state Sen. Dan Cronin of Elmhurst, the ranking Republican on the Senate Education Committee. "If it were real, it would have been proposed several months ago, involved civic leaders, Republicans, Democrats and business and labor leaders."

Other Republicans contended Blagojevich has mortgaged the state's fiscal future to escape raising taxes.

"The history of this administration has been to kind of try and grab something today and not worry about tomorrow, and someday we're going to have to start worrying about tomorrow," former Gov. Jim Edgar said outside a Topinka fundraiser. "In the heat of a campaign, when he's trying to get the attention off other issues, you know, I'm just fearful that it's going to put the state even more and more behind the financial eight ball."

Blagojevich's proposal called for paying teachers based on their performance--an item considered anathema to teachers unions. It would also add at least an extra month to teachers' contracts in poor performing school districts to help failing students.

"We believe that any rush to judgment on this important issue would be a mistake," said James Dougherty, the president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, a union that includes members of the Chicago Teachers Union.

Ken Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association, said the proposals for merit pay and extending teacher contracts are issues of negotiation between local school districts and teachers.

jchase@tribune.com

rap30@aol.com

Tribune staff reporters Diane Rado and Ray Long contributed to this report

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Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune

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Source: Chicago Tribune

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