By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner | Wirepoints
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Illinoisans spend all-in $44 billion, or $24,000 per student, on PK-12 schools. They’ve doubled their per student spend over the past 15 years – the nation’s 3rd-biggest increase – and Illinoisans now spend the 11th-most in the country and by far the most in the Midwest. Illinois residents have done their job in funding the state’s education system, and their highest-in-the-nation property tax bills are proof.
Despite all that, the system continues to fail Illinois children. Nearly 60% of white students statewide can’t read at grade level. Nor can 80% of Hispanics and nearly 90% of black children. In many cities, like in Decatur and Peoria, the numbers are even more dire. And covid can’t be blamed. The results were equally bad before the pandemic hit.
Illinois’ public education system simply doesn’t work. And yet those in charge clamor for even more money. This year alone Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants another $1 billion from state taxpayers, never mind that Chicago schools already spend nearly $30,000 per student. And Chicago Teachers Unions President Stacy Davis Gates says she wants “$50 billion and 3 cents” for a new teachers contract that includes 9% minimum salary hikes for teachers. And educational interest groups want lawmakers to spend almost a full $1 billion more every year on the state’s funding formula.
It’s those kinds of demands year in and year out that push lawmakers to pour more money into education with no questions or accountability. It’s all part of the education hustle between teachers unions and the state’s politicians, which we wrote about in The Wall Street Journal.
If Illinoisans ever want to see a reduction in their property tax bills, and if they want more literate and numerate children in this state, they’ll need to push back. But first they’ll need to know the facts about how extreme and ineffective Illinois has become when it comes to education spending. We lay out five key facts below.
1. Illinois is already one of the nation’s biggest spenders on education.
Based on U.S. Census data, Illinois spent nearly $19,000 per student in 2022, the most of any state in the Midwest. (That includes local, state and federal dollars.)
It’s $3,000 more per student than North Dakota, $4,000 more than Wisconsin, and $7,000 more than South Dakota.
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Across all 50 states, Illinois ranks 11th-highest in total per student spending. The states that surpass Illinois are mostly high-cost states in the Northeast like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
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