Citizens lawsuit for fair funding.
Earlier the Urban League went to court and filed suit claiming that the way Illinois funds schools violates the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution.
Yesterday two Illinois taxpayers became plaintiffs in another lawsuit making a similar assertion.
The Sun-Times editorialized:
It’s time to force state legislators into action.
That’s why we are enthusiastic about a lawsuit being filed today in Springfield that challenges a school finance system that is overly reliant on property taxes. About 65 percent of public education dollars are raised through local property taxes. Just 28 percent is contributed by the state — one of the lowest rates in the country.
We hope this lawsuit, along with another suit filed in 2008 by the Chicago Urban League, will light a fire under legislators who refuse to repair an unjust system that severely underfunds schools in our neediest communities.
The new lawsuit charges that the system violates the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution because it forces homeowners in poor communities to pay higher property tax rates than owners of homes of similar value in more affluent areas.
