Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Easy way out just $20 million

We have repeatedly pointed out that Illinois is in its current financial mess because state lawmakers refuse to make tough decisions. A prime example -- the $20.2 million in payments being made to school districts this year solely because lawmakers can't bring themselves to say "no more."

The state allocates money to schools based on a formula it revised in the late 1990s. The new formula was considered fairer as it boosted funding for some schools and lowered it for others. But lawmakers decided to offer temporary financial help for the districts whose aid was cut. Hold harmless, it's called.

A decade later, temporary has morphed into permanent. Districts throughout Illinois, including eight in the metro-east, continue to collect a windfall from the formula's safety net.

Most local lawmakers know this is wrong. In 2003, former state Sen. Frank Watson seemed shocked to hear the payments were still being made. "Maybe the time is getting close to pull the plug," he commented then. State Rep. Jay Hoffman said in 2003, "Over time I see how the 1997-98 level is not necessarily reflective of need."

But even the state's dire financial crisis isn't enough to get lawmakers to phase out these payments. Saying yes to $20 million in extra spending is so much easier than saying "no more" to a few school superintendents.