SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) released the statement below after voting to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1.

“Today I voted to uphold Senate Bill 1, legislation that is supported by Rockford area superintendents and education experts across the state."

The Senate has approved an override of Governor Rauner's amendatory veto that changed the bill and put school districts like Rockford and Harlem at risk of losing funding in the future.

The governor's veto would remove protections from the school funding formula that take into account a school district's ability to pay. Local districts like Rockford and Harlem are impacted by property tax caps and Tax Increment Finance Districts. That makes them look better funded than they actually are, hurting their ability to get state aid.

Plus in two years, under the Governor's veto, many local school districts which have declining enrollments would see less state aid even though their costs stay the same.

Senate Bill 1 provides an additional $5 million a year to Rockford schools. Yesterday, the Governor released a plan that claimed to increase state funding. However, he did that by taking money from a handful of school districts and redistributed it around the state.

We need a new school funding formula that helps poor children across the state and doesn't create winning and losing school districts. Senate Bill 1 benefits schools today, tomorrow and for years down the line. The governor cannot say the same about his plan.”