How much does your school district get in the new state budget?
Some of the suburbs' largest school districts and those that have pushed hardest for changes to Illinois' education funding will get the biggest budget bump under the plan lawmakers finally approved last week.
Algonquin-based Community Unit District 300 will get $5.9 million more this year, trailing only Chicago Public Schools and Rockford schools statewide in increased funding.
Two districts that have pushed hard for a state school funding overhaul also will see millions more. East Aurora Unit District 131 will get $5.3 million more and Elgin Area School District U-46 will get $4.2 million more, according to the state.
Partly because officials decided to put more money in the system, no school district will lose money under the plan.
You can search here to see how your school district fared.
It's not over
"It's still not the long-term solution we'll continue to push for," U-46 CEO Tony Sanders said.
The additional money helps, he said, but it's less than 1 percent of the annual $500 million U-46 budget.
Sanders' district and others are pushing for a proposal that would send a greater share of state funding to districts with less property tax wealth.
The best part of the budget passed last week just hours before the new fiscal year began, Sanders says, is that it exists at all.
While lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner bickered, it wasn't entirely clear a spending plan would be in place in time for schools to open in August.
Not all fixed
One of the most visible reminders of the yearlong state budget stalemate will remain for now.
Or, we should say, the lack of reminders.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White says the office is still deciding whether there's enough money to restart mailing reminders that drivers need to renew their vehicle stickers.
The mailers were a casualty of the budget war, which annoyed lots of drivers who faced $20 late fees for failing to renew on time.
As of late last month, drivers had paid more than $5 million more in late fees than they had the year before, The Associated Press reported.
Drivers can sign up for the reminders online at cyberdriveillinois.com.
Four dissenters
The four suburban lawmakers who voted against the state's stopgap budget appeared on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" this week. You can watch the full video at ChicagoTonight.wttw.com.
Democratic Rep. Jack Franks of Marengo joined Republican Reps. Tom Morrison of Palatine, Jeanne Ives of Wheaton and David McSweeney of Barrington Hills.
"If you voted for that budget, get ready," Ives said. "Because come January, maybe the end of December, you're going to also have to feel obligated to vote for a $5 billion-plus tax increase."
Dold's big haul
Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Dold, a Kenilworth Republican, announced his campaign raised more than $850,000 in the second quarter of the year and had $2.3 million in the bank at the end of June.
Democratic candidate Brad Schneider hasn't released similar numbers, and the full reports aren't due until next week.
The two candidates' third battle will once again be closely watched in Washington because of the North suburban 10th Congressional District's rare national reputation for giving both parties a shot.