Opinion: Illinois schools survived one budget crisis. Now we face another

As we enter what may become the longest federal government shutdown in history, I’m reminded of our own state’s budget battle that lasted 793 days back in 2017. Then and now, one political party played games while children suffered.

In February 2017, then-Gov. Bruce Rauner walked into Belleville West High School where I taught U.S. history. He prepared for a photo op. As president of our local union and a 24-year veteran teacher, I prepared to speak truth to power.

I told the press that Rauner had “held the state budget hostage to his political demands instead of leading” and had “hurt our community.” I said what needed to be said: if he really cared about our schools, he’d ask millionaires like himself to pay their fair share.

Now it feels like we are in many ways headed back to where we started. At the time, Belleville Township High School District 201 was owed $1.7 million in back payments plus another $3 million for that year alone. Now, despite having passed an evidence-based formula to correct historic underfunding for our schools, districts like mine still only receive about two-thirds of what it needs to adequately serve students.

That’s why I’m honored to have just been elected executive vice president to lead the Illinois Federation of Teachers alongside Pankaj Sharma and John Miller under our new incoming President Stacy Davis Gates of Chicago.

For fiscal year 2026, our district operates at just two-thirds of adequate funding under the Evidence-Based Funding Formula. That means the state underfunds us by nearly $23 million compared to what our students actually need.

If we allow that to continue, then class sizes will grow. Retiring teachers won’t be replaced. New staff will be laid off. And with most teachers now in Tier 2 pension plans with reduced retirement benefits, it’s getting harder to recruit and keep talent in our classrooms.

But if we move Illinois to become a true leader on education, not just following the example of states like Massachusetts, Minnesota, or Maryland, but becoming the No. 1 state for children’s education, then the sky is the limit for our young people.

Schools shouldn’t have to choose between toilet paper and hot lunches, special education support or sports programs.

We beat Rauner’s “turnaround agenda” eight years ago not just through individual voices like mine speaking up but by all of us banding together. Teachers unions across Illinois organized together. Educators, parents, community members, social service providers, and university students built coalitions. We told our stories in town halls, school board meetings, and legislative hearings.

Eventually, the pressure worked. In July 2017, the legislature overrode Rauner’s veto to pass a budget. And in 2018, voters ended Rauner’s political career.

We can do the same now to win for our students.

Like those who wanted to keep the government shut down then, they will try to destroy our public education and use geography or race to divide us in the process.

But the truth is that children not getting a quality education miss the same leg up whether it’s in East St. Louis or in Rockford. And the example educators and parents have set in Chicago is one that all of us could benefit from. In their last contract, the educators didn’t just win for themselves, they got smaller class sizes, won mandatory recess, and increased access to sports, arts, and music.

That’s what’s possible when we have leaders who prioritize our children and invest in their education the way those who have more than enough already take for granted.

As the newly elected slate of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, that’s our commitment. To see our state leadership deliver on the promise that hasn’t been kept, to fend off the federal attacks on our children’s education, and to weave us all together across region and difference to make Illinois a beacon and the leader it should be.

It’s not just what our schools need. It’s the least our families deserve.

Cyndi Oberle-Dahm is Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, President of the Southwest Area Council, and Inter-Organizational Liaison for the Belleville Federation of Teachers Local 434. She is the Social Studies Department Chair at Belleville West High School.