Student lobbyists get adult lesson

By James Edwards
Medill Reports - Chicago

Chicago high school students received a civics lesson Wednesday afternoon, and they traveled to the state Capitol in Springfield to get it.

Clemente High School students were in Springfield to lobby legislators for more money for schools and for stricter gun laws.

The verdict is out on the money for schools, but the students' request for tightened gun laws - in the wake of the shooting deaths of 20 CPS students this school year - apparently didn't impress legislators.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon voted down a measure that would have prevented Illinois residents from buying more than one handgun a month.

The delegation from Clemente was the second to make the trip since Tuesday. Students from Jones College Prep High School in the South Loop were the first of the lobbying effort. Fourteen other high schools will send students to Springfield to lobby legislators between now and the end of May.

Students from Taft High School on the Northwest Side are scheduled to travel to Springfield on Thursday.

On Tuesday, CPS chief Arne Duncan accompanied the students.

"For too long, we have not heard from the most important voices in this debate-the children," Duncan told reporters in Springfield. "This is all about children and their future and Illinois needs to do much more for them if they are to have a bright future."

Duncan and Board of Education President Rufus Williams say they hope the effort will help make the case for additional school funding.

Duncan announced in February that he plans to cut $90 million from the CPS budget next year but still needs an additional $180 million from the state to expand what he calls critical new programs without raising property taxes.

One of the bills on the table would push forward an increase in the state income tax on both individuals and corporations. The increase would go to education.

If approved, individuals would see a 2 percent increase; corporations' share would rise more than 3 percent.

The proposal, introduced in February, has attracted 21 co-sponsors, including Senate President Emil Jones, a Chicago Democrat.

Illinois has used property taxes, not income taxes, to fund education. The income tax proposal would shift some of the education funding burden away from property taxes.

While legislators are working out the budget, CPS received news from two non-state funding sources this week.

U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago Democrat, announced last week that he had set aside $5 million in federal money for after-school programs and nearly $1.4 million for programs and projects at a teacher training academy.

On Tuesday, the Chicago City Council approved Mayor Richard Daley's plan to use $25 million from tax increment financing districts to make more schools accessible for students with disabilities.