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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Chicago Public Schools is the only school district | ||||||
| 3 | in the State of Illinois that, by law, requires an appointed | ||||||
| 4 | rather than elected school board; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, The Chicago Board of Education has the power to | ||||||
| 6 | levy property taxes, cut or increase funding for schools, set | ||||||
| 7 | the terms of teacher contracts, and decide whether neighborhood | ||||||
| 8 | schools should remain open or shutter their doors; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The members of the Chicago Board of Education | ||||||
| 10 | making these crucial decisions, which impact every student, | ||||||
| 11 | parent, educator, businessperson, and homeowner in the city, | ||||||
| 12 | are not accountable to the general public but rather to the | ||||||
| 13 | Chicago mayor and special interests; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, The appointed school board system has led to the | ||||||
| 15 | privatization of school services and conflicts of interest, | ||||||
| 16 | including cases wherein board members profit from the school | ||||||
| 17 | district by contracting with businesses owned by the board | ||||||
| 18 | member; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, For years, concerned parents, community members | ||||||
| 20 | and their elected officials in the General Assembly have | ||||||
| 21 | advocated for legislation providing for an elected school board | ||||||
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| 1 | for the City of Chicago; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The General Assembly is closer than ever to | ||||||
| 3 | passing such a measure and establishing an elected school board | ||||||
| 4 | in the near future; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, During recent elections, the amount of money | ||||||
| 6 | flowing into campaigns for candidates up and down the ballot | ||||||
| 7 | has been unprecedented, giving wealthy individuals and | ||||||
| 8 | corporations a large influence over voters; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Across the United States, local communities have | ||||||
| 10 | taken action to curb the influence of big money in campaigns; | ||||||
| 11 | and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Unless action is taken by the State of Illinois | ||||||
| 13 | and the City of Chicago, funding from corporations and the | ||||||
| 14 | ultra-wealthy will flow into elections for the Chicago Board of | ||||||
| 15 | Education, leading board members to be accountable to special | ||||||
| 16 | interests rather than the local community; therefore, be it
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| 17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 18 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 19 | we urge the General Assembly to consider developing a campaign | ||||||
| 20 | finance reform structure and implementing it specifically in | ||||||
| 21 | regard to elections for the Chicago Board of Education; and be | ||||||
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| 1 | it further
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| 2 | RESOLVED, That members of the Illinois General Assembly are | ||||||
| 3 | encouraged to work with city officials and interested members | ||||||
| 4 | of the Chicago Public Schools community to develop legislation | ||||||
| 5 | that may be introduced after the creation of an elected Chicago | ||||||
| 6 | Board of Education.
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