Number of half-empty Chicago public schools doubles, yet lawmakers want to extend school closing moratorium – Wirepoints
April 19, 2024
17 Comments
A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board. That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
NJ has a progressive state income tax comes out to a 4.25% effective rate on $100,000 income, 5% on $150K, etc. So it escalates quickly. Included in their progressive tax structure is a pseudo-millionaire’s tax, like the one proposed by Madigan last year, that’s basically a 2.5% surcharge on all income over $500K. One could argue NJ’s “millionaire tax” generates more income than Madigan’s proposal. So even with a progressive and higher income tax structure than Illinois, New Jersey still manages to have the highest property taxes in the country AND billions in pension debt. Lest anyone think we can… Read more »