The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Cleveland school voucher program has emboldened some religious leaders in Illinois, who said Thursday they hope to meet with state lawmakers and craft a school choice plan that will pass muster with the General Assembly.
But public school officials and other critics of vouchers are girding for a fight, saying parents should not be able to use state money for private school tuition.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois–long stymied by state legislators’ refusal to approve vouchers–had decided to push for legislation if the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead. Thursday’s decision brought those plans to life and prompted a meeting set for Monday with other religious officials.
“We have some planning to do,” said Zach Wichmann, associate director of education for the conference, the church’s public policy arm. “We need to design a voucher program that has a chance of passing through the General Assembly. We need to talk to our friends in the non-public school community.”
Those pro-voucher friends in Illinois include officials from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Association of Christian Schools, and Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox Jewish organization that called for the Monday meeting.
But pushing school choice through the General Assembly has never been an easy proposition, and voucher opponents are promising a spirited campaign.
“We fully expect that voucher bills will be introduced next spring, and we are energized to fight them,” said Gail Purkey, spokeswoman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “We are always energized to promote and protect public education, and this Supreme Court ruling re-energized us.”
The closely divided court endorsed Thursday a pilot program in Cleveland that provides parents with a tax-supported education stipend they can use for religious and other private schools.
Proponents of such vouchers say they give students in failing schools an opportunity for better education that is readily available to their more wealthy peers. Opponents say vouchers blur the line between state and religion and drain scarce resources from a public school system already struggling to meet budget demands.
Purkey and other public education officials say the biggest obstacle for vouchers in Illinois could be lawmakers’ reluctance to take funding from public education, especially in a struggling economy.
Illinois legislators have wrestled with vouchers many times, most recently in 1995 when they rejected a plan that would have allowed some Chicago students to use up to $2,500 for private school tuition.
In 1999 legislators approved a tuition tax credit that allows parents of private and parochial school students to deduct up to $500 from their income tax. Last year 165,900 families, or 2.9 percent of residents who filed tax returns, took advantage of the credit.
Two years ago, rank-and-file lawmakers forced their leaders to back away from a plan that would have given private and religious schools taxpayer-financed grants to help cover the costs of initiatives mandated by the state–a plan heavily backed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Cardinal Francis George said in a statement Thursday the archdiocese would support any new voucher legislation.
But State Sen. Dan Cronin (R-Elmhurst), who sponsored the last voucher bill, said he does not plan to introduce one in the upcoming session. Tax credits and charter schools have changed the educational landscape by providing more options, making the need for a voucher bill less urgent, he said.
“I’m not saying it’s dead; I’m just saying it’s a tough sell,” said Cronin, who heads the Senate Education Committee.
Rabbi Mark Kalish, executive director of the Midwest Region of Agudath Israel, said vouchers could be a make or break issue for members of his community in the November election.
But Walt Warfield, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators, said the group is poised for the fight. “I can assure you that this decision will bring together the various organizations who protect public schools,” he said. “And we will be a significant force to reckon with.”
