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IPI Voucher Ballot Referendum: Dishonest and Damaging

  • 4 hours ago
  • 2 min read

“They lie about unions. They lie about public schools. They lie about their connection to anti-semites. Now they are lying to voters in order to steal our tax dollars for their big money funders. If they had actual public support, they wouldn’t use such dishonest language to disguise their intentions.”










WESTMONT, IL - In response to reporting that the state branch of Project 2025, the Illinois Policy Institute agenda, is pushing Illinois counties and townships to hold sham ballot measures at taxpayers' expense, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) responded outlining the group’s pattern of dishonesty and exposing its larger mission of diverting billions in taxpayer funds to private and for-profit schools. IFT Vice President Cyndi Oberle-Dahm issued the following:


“The Illinois Policy Institute has been able to lie their way into getting almost two dozen Illinois jurisdictions to spend taxpayer money on a media stunt aimed at forcing our Governor to divert billions of dollars away from our communities' schools and into the pockets of for-profit corporations – and no one should be the least bit surprised. For years, they’ve lied about unions, about their connection to antisemitic candidates, and about their own dark money financing. So is it really that much of a stretch to think they would lie to Illinois taxpayers about a federal voucher scheme that hasn’t even been fully explained?


“It’s simple. Private education in Illinois should continue to be privately funded. Public funds should be invested in our public schools, which are open to all children regardless of income, ability, gender, or language.

“Across the country, states that have implemented voucher schemes are witnessing public dollars go to private religious schools with no standards, no oversight, and no safeguards against discrimination. Florida’s voucher program was audited and $270 million in taxpayer funds is completely missing. In Arizona, 62% of voucher funds, critical dollars diverted from public infrastructure, went to children in wealthy families. Millions of Wisconsin taxpayer dollars are being diverted to private schools that are allowed to discriminate against students. This is the future that the Illinois Policy Institute wants for our state and the type of abuse of public money that Illinois already rejected once before.


“When our state already owes our students billions of promised but undelivered resources, the Governor and legislature need to be increasing investment in public schools that are required to serve all students, not enlisting in a program that enriches CEO salaries, grants already fortunate children an even larger leg up, and rewards institutions who can discriminate in who they choose to serve.


“It shouldn’t come as a surprise that IPI needs to lie to Illinois voters, cities, and counties in order to hold a fake ballot measure to fake public interest in a fake school funding scheme. If they relied on the facts, they know that their arguments would be laughed out of the room and out of our state.” 



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