Illinois prioritizes teachers unions over children
Jack Elbaum
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Earlier this summer, the Illinois state legislature decided not to renew the Invest in Kids Act, which provides 9,000 low-income students with school vouchers. A clear picture is emerging as to why.
For starters, we know it is not because the program was unpopular. An Illinois Policy Institute poll found that the proportion of Illinois voters who supported it (63%) was three times as large as the proportion that opposed it (21%). In fact, over the course of this year, the program has actually become more popular, with both support rising and opposition falling. The reason is likely because it gives children who would otherwise be stuck in failing traditional public schools, of which Illinois has far too many, the opportunity to be in a better learning environment.
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We also know it is not because of the cost. Heritage Foundation fellow Jason Bedrick pointed out that “the scholarships cost the state only about $8,350 per pupil, less than half of the average $19,700 per pupil at public schools statewide and less than a third of the more than $29,000 per pupil in Chicago public schools.” As such, eliminating the program may cost taxpayers up to $100 million per year.
What, then, is the reason? It is likely because of activism by self-interested teachers unions.
We can listen to Illinois’s branch of the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association, in its own words. It posted an “update” on its website reading, “Thank you for your help! Because of you we successfully kept a voucher extension out of the budget! This is a huge win for public education and our students. It means vouchers are on track to sunset at the end of the year.” The Chicago Teachers Union also chimed in, writing on X, “It must be ‘game over’ for IL’s voucher program; the Invest in Kids Act must sunset as intended by the IL General Assembly after this school year!”
But it’s not just statements. A recent analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute found that “of the Illinois General Assembly’s 177 members, 144 of them — more than 4 out of every 5 — have received money from teachers unions.” Since 2010, they have given more than $20 million to current Illinois lawmakers, including more than $8 million to the Senate president alone, along with more than $100,000 to the vast majority of them.
The power teachers unions wield in Illinois is well known, documented by both conservative and liberal news outlets alike.
And public sector unions more generally are catered to every single day by the Illinois state government, with bloated pensions, unprecedented raises, and acquiescence to political demands. The idea that teachers union pressure was not at least a significant reason for the demise of the program borders on the absurd.
This becomes particularly true when considering the studies that showed how susceptible governments were to teachers union activism during the COVID-19 pandemic. It simply uncovered what we all already knew happened on a regular basis.
The government is supposed to serve the people. But when self-interested, powerful public sector unions sit down to talk with similarly self-interested government officials, “the people” are given nobody to represent their interests — and they pay the price.
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Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.