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90_SJ0017
SDS/SJR0001/tap
1 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, the need for education funding reform in
3 Illinois has been made the top priority of the Ninetieth
4 General Assembly and the Governor; and
5 WHEREAS, the Governor has proclaimed that it is "time to
6 act" to improve the method of funding Illinois' schools; and
7 WHEREAS, Several groups, including the Governor's
8 Commission on Education Funding, known as the Ikenberry
9 Commission, and a group made up of representatives of the
10 education community, have offered possible plans for
11 reforming school funding; and
12 WHEREAS, The central need for improved equity among
13 school districts is essential in a system that has been
14 called unfair; and
15 WHEREAS, It is agreed that property tax reduction will be
16 a central part of any plan and will require increases or
17 shifts in other taxes to provide such relief; and
18 WHEREAS, Property tax relief coupled with other types of
19 revenue enhancements will benefit corporate and business
20 taxpayers; and
21 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois currently provides over $1
22 billion in tax incentives and hundreds of millions of dollars
23 in economic benefits to corporations and businesses, known
24 widely as corporate welfare; and
25 WHEREAS, Corporations receive property tax relief in
26 enterprise zones which totaled $30 million in 1995, and
27 corporations are also the chief beneficiary of $200 million
28 in tax increment financing extensions; and
29 WHEREAS, Corporations have benefited from over $1.3
30 billion in Industrial Revenue Bonds to provide low interest
-2- SDS/SJR0001/tap
1 capital and $2.3 billion in environmental bonds to provide
2 capital for environmental improvements; and
3 WHEREAS, There is a need to strive for cooperation and
4 shared sacrifice in improving the quality of our schools and
5 how those schools are financed; and
6 WHEREAS, The United States Congress has entered into a
7 bipartisan discussion on reining in corporate welfare, and
8 Senator Kennedy, a Democrat, and Congressman Kasich, a
9 Republican, are leading those discussions; and
10 WHEREAS, All interested parties in Illinois have shown a
11 willingness to achieve fair funding reform to benefit the
12 children and citizens of the State of Illinois; therefore, be
13 it
14 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
15 OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
16 CONCURRING HEREIN, that any consideration of education
17 funding reform undertaken by the House or Senate include the
18 reduction of corporate welfare and the savings in State of
19 Illinois revenue that could be applied to better fund
20 schools, improve equity or reduce property taxes; and be it
21 further;
22 RESOLVED, That any task force or committee formed to
23 undertake or study such reform include the reduction of
24 corporate welfare and the closing of any corporate or
25 business loopholes present in current economic benefits or
26 tax breaks in order to better fund schools, improve equity or
27 reduce property taxes.