Supporting our schools: Who should pay?

Editor: I would like to comment on the results of a recent Illinois Issues poll ("The importance of being educated," May, pp. 22-23) that were reported in our very popular Chicago suburban publication, The Daily Herald.

First, the $12,000 cost of the survey seems to be a waste of money to determine the obvious. Certainly no parent, grandparent or, for that matter, single person would object to adequate support for our schools to educate our children. They are our future.

Unfortunately, raising the income tax by 1 percent will not solve the problem of equal quality education for all children in Illinois. The additional $600 million that would be generated by a tax increase would still go into the general fund and be subject to distribution by politicians with self-serving objectives: Where will an allocation gain the most votes?

I may not appreciate this attitude but I can understand it. Legislative careers depend on votes from constituents. As a matter of fact, the school support issue is one that I bet most politicians wish would go away.

Presently, about 80 percent of the school support in Illinois comes from real estate taxes. This tax is not equal for all, however, and does not yield the revenue that an income tax increase would. Also bear in mind that schools lose millions of dollars every year because of delinquent real estate taxes (primarily from commercial property owners) and the sale of thousands of properties for tax delinquency. Why not have a dedicated state income tax to support our schools and thereby relieve some of the burden on homeowners?

We need the leadership of a magnanimous politician, one willing to support relinquishing the political control of our schools. As Lester Brann contends, improved education cannot be guaranteed simply by increasing the flow of tax revenue into general funds because that money would still be subject to distribution by legislators motivated by political considerations.

    Howard L. Nerius
    Des Plaines

Readers: Your comments on articles and columns are welcome. Please keep letters brief (250 words); we reserve the right to excerpt them so as many as space allows can be published. Send your letters to:
        Editor Caroline Gherardini
        Illinois Issues
        Sangamon State University
        Springfield, Illinois 62794-9243

Bowman on Mandeville — one last time!

Editor: I will speculate that readers who managed to work their way through the whole series of exchanges between myself and Illinois budget director, Dr. Robert Mandeville, have by now concluded that it is nearly impossible to fix responsibility for unbalanced budgets. In my opinion, they are right. It is precisely this lack of mechanisms providing accountability that is at the root of our chronic fiscal crises. I am sure these readers will welcome any change in the state's budget and appropriations procedures that will improve accountability.

I wish to thank those readers whose reactions to my article in the January issue have helped me to refine my proposals. I am especially grateful to the Illinois Manufacturers' Association and the Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry for supporting H.B. 3460, the Illinois Comprehensive Budget Control Act, which I drafted to implement my proposals.

        Woods Bowman
        State Representative
        4th District (Evanston)

July 1988 | Illinois Issues | 12