The Chicago Urban League filed a lawsuit against Illinois yesterday, saying our system of funding schools through property taxes is racially discriminatory and unconstitutional. From an AP article,
Illinois' current system of funding exacerbates the state's segregated housing problem, especially in Chicago, said Lisa Scruggs, a lawyer for the group. Because homes in neighborhoods with high percentages of minorities have lower values than homes in white neighborhoods, schools in minority districts get less funding.
"The basic fact that you have a distinction between low property-wealth districts and high property-wealth districts, ultimately that leads down the road to gaps in education performance," Scruggs said.
The disparity in funds is real. The Chicago Reporter collected a list of stats that'll raise your eyebrows. One example:
Due to the primary reliance on local property tax revenue for school funding, there are massive cumulative gaps in per-pupil spending, particularly in poor or minority communities. The 6,413 students who started elementary school in Evanston in 1994 and graduated from high school in 2007 had about $290 million more spent on their education than the same number of Chicago Public Schools students.
The Urban League wants the state to institute a fairer funding system. Whether or not you agree with them, everyone should recognize the importance of being able to ask these kinds of questions. For years, people have used the civil justice system to do just that and to further other civil rights causes. This is just the latest example.
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