IFT Members Rally in Springfield to Demand Full Funding for Schools and Counter Trump Cuts by Taxing the Rich on Eve of Gov. Pritzker’s Statewide Address

“Choosing between tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy or funding for our children’s education, that’s an easy choice any day of the week.” - IFT Secretary Treasurer Pankaj Sharma  Photos available here | Livestream Available Here

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Educators and state workers from the 105,000-member Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) rallied and lobbied at the Capitol on Tuesday to demand Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly prioritize delivering funds that have been promised but not provided to Illinois’ students and to counter devastating Trump administration cuts by finally fixing Illinois’ upside tax code and making the ultra-rich pay their fair share.

During a press conference, IFT officers and members urged Gov. Pritzker and lawmakers to make the state No. 1 in education from pre-K to PhD by countering Trump's federal funding cuts with strong state investment that delivers for students and communities. Members called on lawmakers to fix Illinois' backwards tax system that makes working people pay higher tax rates than billionaires and close costly tax breaks for the ultra-rich, arguing that Illinois can protect students, educators, and working families by reinvesting in public schools and higher education.

"From pre-K to PhD. Illinois owes our students over $6 billion, and this is not just in one part of the state. This is urban, this is suburban, this is rural, and our governor needs to deliver on the funds that have been promised and we have not yet received,” said Cyndi Oberle-Dahm, IFT Executive Vice President and Southwest Area Council President. “We need to Trump-proof our state. The majority of our schools are underfunded. We need to protect our students, and we need to protect our residents and our communities.”

Various members highlighted the growing strain on local school districts, colleges, and state services due to past budgets that have not fulfilled the state’s obligations to its students. From pre-K to Ph.D., Illinois is underfunding its students and communities by over $6 billion: $5 billion for K-12 schools and $1.4 billion for higher education. 

The Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) law enacted in 2017 set 2027 as the deadline to reach 90% adequacy for all k-12 schools. The Governor’s recent budgets have put Illinois behind schedule. Without passing the Guzman-Davis bills for full funding, Illinois won't reach this goal until 2034, seven years past the deadline. At the k-12 level, 286 districts are operating at 76 percent or less of the adequate funding level. Many schools are also struggling to meet what are called “mandated categoricals”—programs and services the state requires at levels it does not fund, such as transportation for students with disabilities, special education services, nutrition, social work, and counseling.

“Today, clinicians such as social workers, speech and language pathologists, occupational and physical therapists and school nurses are assigned to two or more schools. This means students who require weekly services may receive inconsistent or reduced supports. Evaluations are delayed, therapy minutes are compromised or prevented. Mental health services become crisis response," said Dr. Quintella Bounds, Chicago Public Schools special education teacher and case manager and member of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Local 1. “These are not abstract budget numbers. These are children who need structured communication support, students with physical disabilities who require consistent therapy to access their classrooms, and children with emotional disabilities who need regular counseling to remain safe and engaged in learning.”

Speaking to the crisis in higher education, IFT Membership Secretary and President of the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI) Local 4100, John Miller, added, "We again call on the governor to fund higher education and the legislature to get behind full funding of public higher education. Their failure to do so results in our graduating students with some of the highest debt in this nation.It's unacceptable. Many of our students leave the state to go to other schools. Many of them decide not to even attend our schools because they simply can't afford to go."

“Every day that Illinois fails to provide us with sufficient funding is another day that Illinois fails to support bright, passionate and talented individuals who have so much to give back to this very state," said Anabelle Jimenez, a student at Northeastern Illinois University. “Please follow through on your promises and pass the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act. If you want to see Illinois flourish, we cannot resolve this brain drain and get back to Illinois without you helping us first. We are counting on this.”

“Last year, Decatur had to survive on 77% of what the state says we need to educate our students. Seventy‑three percent of our kids come from low income families, 92% qualify for free or reduced lunch," said Michelle Mitchell, President of the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants, Local 4324. “Every day, I see students carrying far more than a backpack to school. Many struggle with hunger, trauma, and exhaustion. Sometimes what they need most is not just a worksheet. They need mental health support, a chance to rest and to focus and learn.”

“Trump’s big awful bill was the biggest transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top in American history including the top 5% in our state getting billions. Full funding for our schools would be less than the tax breaks that they received from Trump.  We stand before you today with a very reasonable plea: fully fund schools and public services. It’s not hard to do. You just tax the rich. We know Governor Pritzker has committed to that previously. It’s time to fully support that effort," said Jackson Potter, Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union. “If the full funding bill is passed, it would triple the amount of funding for school breakfast and lunch at a time when this President is cutting those things for the very students we are attempting to serve.”

“Public education is the key to a healthy democracy and allows for true economic and social mobility so that every kid has the same opportunity. However, in Illinois, a child’s opportunities often depend on the zip code they live in, and we cannot accept that anymore," said Pankaj Sharma, IFT Secretary-Treasurer and President of the North Suburban Teachers Union, Local 1274. “Let’s invest in our young people and set the standard that makes Illinois number one in the country for education. If we have to choose between tax cuts for the ultra wealthy or funding for our children’s education, that’s an easy choice any day of the week.”

The IFT members from across the state met with their representatives to show how families and communities are unfairly bearing the brunt of holding back the promised resources for schools and their students. They argued that all students, especially Black, Latine, rural and working-class students, need state action to shield them from federal cuts.

IFT members delivered a letter to Gov. Pritzker calling on him to "Trump‑proof Illinois" and pointing to states like Massachusetts, where a millionaire tax has generated at least $5.7 billion since 2023 to pay for schools, public transit, and infrastructure. The need to tax the ultra-wealthy is especially urgent as Trump has redirected federal budgets away from public schools and other services to provide the top 5% in Illinois with $7 billion in new tax breaks.

Tuesday's lobby day comes one day before Gov. Pritzker's budget address and marks continued efforts by  members of the IFT and it's newly elected leadership slate to deliver promised but never-realized funds to schools across Illinois.

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