Vouchers and Community Service

There are two bills proposed by our area legislators that they need to hear from constituents on :

1. HB1371 Is a bill sponsored by Rep. LaShawn Ford.
This bill is called a "school choice" act. Its a voucher bill that would give our tax money as scholarships to students from over crowded, urban (Chicago) schools. The student can put the money towards tuition at a private school. The amount of the scholarship would equal the amount of General State Aid for the student that would normally go to their neighborhood public school. This does not really give a choice to a poor family that could not afford the balance of the private high school tuition after the 6000.00 contribution of our tax money.

2. HB1243 directly affects our District 201 students. Rep Hernandez has proposed bill HB1243 , a state law requiring only District 201 to set up a program to provide students an opportunity to earn credits by doing community service. No mention in the bill about where any funding would come from for the District to run the program. No mention of any funding to area service organizations so they can train and monitor students. Reminder that District 201 cut the electives offered to students this year, laid off 100 teachers and many staff. This unfunded mandate may further burden our district without adding any class time or direct instruction from teachers.

Both of these bills are in the Elementary and Secondary Education Committees for hearings. The hearings could begin this Wednesday.

Please take the time to call or e-mail to your representative TODAY. As few as 5 calls gets the attention of a representative. They and their aids will answer specific questions and listen to feedback. Please call today. Below is the contact info for Representative Ford and Representative Hernandez:

Representative LaShawn K Ford, 8th District (D)
275 S Stratton Office Building Springfield IL 62706
217-782-5962
217-557-4502 fax
District Office 5104 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60651
(773) 378-5902
(773) 378-5903 FAX Cook County
Email: lkf@ilga.gov

Representative Lisa Hernandez 24th Distrct (D)
86-S Stratton Office Building Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8173
(217) 558-1844 FAX
District Office: 2137 S. Lombard Suite 205 Cicero, IL 60804
(708) 222-5240
(708) 222-5241 FAX Cook County
Email: repehernandez@yahoo.com