Another Special Session Possible to Deal With School Funding

Senate President John Cullerton says Gov. Bruce Rauner need not call a special session to deal with school funding. The Chicago Democrat said in a statement Friday that the Republican need only show lawmakers his alternative.

Rauner went to a high school south of Springfield to ask the Senate again to send him the funding formula legislation because the start of school looms. He says he wants it on his desk by Monday or he'll call legislators into special session.

Cullerton says all Rauner needs to do is meet with legislative leaders and show them his plan.

Rauner wants to use an amendatory veto on the measure. He says the formula designed to push money to neediest schools first is a "bailout" for Chicago Public Schools who have underfunded pension accounts. Proponents say Chicago is not getting preferential treatment.

He produced a list this week that cuts Chicago funding by $145 million and adds it to other districts in Illinois. But he's not released numbers-crunching details.

Meanwhile, the state schools superintendent says in a memo to local administrators that the state will issue billions of dollars it controls even if there's no revised financing system signed into law.

Tony Smith is superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. He says in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that $6.7 billion must be distributed under the evidence-based model not in law. But the state board will issue $5.2 billion in other state and federal funding in any event.

Local school superintendents say that money isn't helpful in putting students and teachers in the classroom.