CHICAGO — The years-long debate over the state's school funding formula has never been easy to understand.
But with $250 million in funding for Chicago Public Schools hanging in the balance, two state legislators representing the Northwest Side will give their lay of the political landscape for their constituents on Wednesday.
State Rep. Robert Martwick and State Sen. John Mulroe — both Democrats — will host a "town hall" event at the Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence Ave., in Jefferson Park at 6 p.m. Wednesday to answer parents' and teachers' questions about Springfield's slog to produce a statewide funding plan before Chicago schools open their doors on Sept. 5.
The House and Senate passed a bill in May rewriting the state's formula for how it doles out funding to public schools, a longtime priority for both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
But last week Rauner vetoed the bill, which had passed along partisan lines after Democrats added $215 million to shore up Chicago's teacher pension fund, which is not funded out of state general revenue funds, unlike every other district in the state. The governor called the bill a "bailout" and proposed an alternate plan, which would divert more funds to suburban and rural districts across the state.
