Patti Serpa is a single mother of five who relies on a state-sponsored tax credit to send her youngest, 12-year-old Santos, to St. Pius V School, a Catholic grade school in Chicago鈥檚 Pilsen neighborhood that she feels provides him with a better education than his former public school.
鈥淏eing at St. Pius, it鈥檚 a family,鈥� Serpa said in Springfield last week, where she and dozens of others gathered to demand lawmakers keep the tax credit scholarship program alive. 鈥淚 have all the teachers and principal鈥檚 numbers, like their cellphone numbers. When you鈥檙e a single parent you look for stuff like that.鈥�
The eleventh-hour effort to save the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program, mounted during the final week of the General Assembly鈥檚 last session of the year, failed as lawmakers adjourned without taking up a proposal to extend it beyond Dec. 31.
Invest in Kids prompted fierce debate over the merits of what some equate to a politically volatile school choice voucher program. While supporters say the tax credit gave children in low-income families a shot at a better education, opponents argued it failed to adequately benefit those kids and chipped away at public education. Both sides said they believe it was the first time such a voucher program has been discontinued.
鈥淎round the country, we鈥檝e seen voucher programs only grow, never end,鈥� said Cassie Creswell, of the advocacy group Illinois Families for Public Schools, which opposed Invest in Kids. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 鈥� really a historic rollback of school privatization, which has been gaining speed, especially in the last couple years.鈥�
Invest in Kids was signed into law by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017. It gave individuals and corporations a 75 percent tax credit, capped at $1 million, on donations to private school scholarships. Total annual credits were capped at $75 million. Various nonprofits process the applications and distribute the money.
The program had broad support among Republican legislators, who back a school choice agenda and have fought against public school teachers unions. Democrats were divided on an extension for the program.
Last month, four Democratic lawmakers tried to save the program by backing a bill that would鈥檝e extended the program through 2028 and reduced the maximum annual credits awarded by the state to $50 million from $75 million.
Also, instead of the current 75 percent tax credit, the proposal called for donors to get a 100 percent credit for the first $5,000 they contribute, then a maximum 65 percent tax credit for any additional amount if the children they sponsor live in underserved communities and a maximum 55% credit if the children don鈥檛. The annual limit for tax credits would be reduced to $500,000 from $1 million.
But, in addition to arguments against the use of public tax credits to fund private schools, many of which are connected to religious organizations, some Democrats expressed concern that not enough children from low-income families were benefiting from the program, especially Black and Latino children 鈥� though the latest proposal was aimed at easing those concerns.
During the 2022-23 school year, no Black students received the scholarships at more than half of the schools participating in the program, and there were no Latino recipients at about a third of the schools, according to data compiled by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Only about a quarter of the money in the program went to low-income students, and roughly the same percentage went to students from areas with at least one low-performing public school, according to the Department of Revenue data.
Democratic state Rep. Fred Crespo said that in the weeks leading up to adjournment, some House Democrats felt the state should have other funding priorities.
鈥淪ome people feel that that money should go to public schools. Others probably felt that, 鈥榃ell, it鈥檚 money that could be invested in folks and not-for-profits that provide services to people with disabilities,鈥欌�� said Crespo, of Hoffman Estates.
A Democratic lawmaker who supports the program said the bid for an extension was hurt because some advocates, particularly the conservative Illinois Policy Institute, tried to turn the issue into a larger crusade against politically powerful teachers unions like the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which are strong political allies and campaign contributors to many Democratic lawmakers. The institute鈥檚 long-standing anti-union agenda was evident in its support of Rauner, who waged an unsuccessful war against public service unions allied with Democrats.
鈥淥nce the battle became that ideological, it鈥檚 just not going to pass with legislative Democratic majorities,鈥� said the lawmaker in support of the Invest in Kids program, who asked not to be identified because he did not want to publicly comment on a politically sensitive issue.
While it has traditionally supported Republican candidates in Chicago鈥檚 suburbs, the Illinois Education Association saw the legislature鈥檚 decision to not extend Invest in Kids as a major victory.
鈥淭he voucher system was intentionally created with a lack of oversight and accountability, leaving us with no data to measure its effectiveness,鈥� the IEA said in a statement. 鈥淲e need to focus on providing the necessary funding to our public schools so that all children in Illinois continue to have access to a high-quality, public education.鈥�
Creswell and some Democrats also argued that scholarship money went to private schools that deny access to students for reasons that include sexual orientation.
On Friday, supporters of Invest in Kids lamented its impending demise during a news conference at Chicago Hope Academy, a private school on the West Side. Ike Muzikowski, Hope鈥檚 principal and president, said 150 students 鈥� roughly half of the school鈥檚 student body 鈥� benefit from the tax credit scholarship program.
鈥淩emoving these scholarships removes opportunities from students who deserve an equitable opportunity to choose something better for themselves,鈥� Muzikowski said.
Creswell said it should be up to private schools to raise money from donors for students who need scholarship help.
鈥淭hese donors who have been getting tax credits should continue writing their checks to schools and to scholarship organizations,鈥� Creswell said, noting that those donations will be eligible for federal tax deductions as they were before Invest in Kids was created.
While acknowledging that donors would be free to continue giving to scholarship funds after the tax credits end, House Republican leader Tony McCombie of Savanna said, 鈥淯nfortunately, some folks might not be able to financially do that.鈥�
All 40 members of the House GOP were ready to support an extension of the program, and McCombie said she鈥檒l continue to push for it to be revived.
鈥淚t is my hope that over the remainder of the year that the advocates for and against this will actually come together, sit at a table together and will come up with a remedy and we鈥檒l whip the votes on both sides of the aisle and come to the speaker and to the [Senate] president and say, 鈥楾his is my roll call. We have the votes. And let鈥檚 call this bill,鈥欌�� McCombie said.
If Democrats who chose to let the program lapse are committed to increasing funding for public education, 鈥淚 would love to hear that as the reason of the bill not being called,鈥� McCombie said.
鈥淚f the governor鈥檚 saying that鈥檚 what he鈥檚 going to be doing, I鈥檇 be interested in hearing that,鈥� McCombie said.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has shifted positions on the program in the last five years.
As a candidate for governor in 2018, he vowed to repeal Invest in Kids, but after taking office he approved a legislative initiative that extended the program for a year beyond its original expiration date and expanded it to private trade schools.
During this past spring鈥檚 legislative session, Pritzker was noncommittal, though he鈥檚 also said the program should be modified to allow for a federal as well as state income tax deduction for donations.
Last month, Pritzker indicated he鈥檇 sign a bill extending the program if the legislature approved one, only to later walk back those comments by saying he鈥檇 defer to lawmakers on whether a proposal would move forward.
Days before last week鈥檚 final legislative session, the governor told a reporter that 鈥渟upport for public education is really where my focus is.鈥�
Pritzker鈥檚 office did not respond to a request for comment on the decision by legislative Democrats to let the program lapse.
At Friday鈥檚 news conference on the West Side, Tiffine White of North Lawndale credited Hope Academy with keeping her children, who attended the school with the help of Invest in Kids scholarships, away from street violence. Two of her kids graduated from Hope Academy and enrolled in college, while two others are seniors at the school. They will be able to graduate without their scholarships being affected, she said.
鈥淲ithout the scholarship, I don鈥檛 know what would have happened. My boys might be a statistic of the streets,鈥� she said.
Some supporters said they worry more religious and private schools will be at risk of closing if they lose students who are able to attend thanks to the scholarship program.
Bob Gilligan of the Catholic Conference of Illinois said Invest in Kids doesn鈥檛 present a challenge to either teachers unions or public schools, noting that the Catholic Church has supported increased funding for public education in Illinois.
Eva Villalobos, whose four daughters attend St. Gall School in the Southwest Side Gage Park neighborhood, said it would cost more than $20,000 per year to keep her kids in the school without the scholarships.
鈥淚f I go back to work, maybe I could afford it paycheck to paycheck,鈥� said Villalobos, a former accountant. 鈥淏ut what about all of these other families that don鈥檛 have careers and do not have those options?鈥�
