Take responsibility for education mess
Donald Abbs contended in his recent letter that effective parenting is an alternative to the U-46 lawsuit that is costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
He is just one more in a list of many who refuse to take some responsibility for the state of the education system in Illinois.
He stated that "the kids are not doing well because their parents are not."
The problem here is plain and simple poverty. The Illinois General Assembly currently has a joint resolution sitting in rules that calls for public hearings on the causes and solutions to poverty in Illinois .
The reason that this is a critical activity is because of the rapid rates increase in citizens living in extreme poverty across the state.
Who are these people. you ask?
One in 33 white, non-Hispanics in Illinois live in extreme poverty. Working-age women who have never married are 68 percent more likely to be living in poverty in Illinois . These statistics should concern us all.
The parents of children in U-46 that live in extreme poverty are not to blame for this problem.
The poor did not create poverty. The systems that we have created and allowed to perform so poorly are to blame for the poverty. The parents and others living in poverty need everyone's help to change the systems.
State Rep. Ruth Munson is a sponsor of the above mentioned joint resolution, yet she has recently stated that she would not support reforming the way education is funded in Illinois, a system that is rated one of the worst in the nation for the huge spending gap between low income areas and the more affluent districts across the state.
This spending gap has contributed to a huge achievement gap between children from affluent communities and those children being born in lower-income areas.
A plan to move away from our over reliance on the local property tax and the state of Illinois paying its fair share of the education bill would be ways to take responsibility here.
Voters across the state in many recent polls agree that the system needs to be reformed and more public hearings are not going to give us different poll results.
As we move into an election season and people are looking for support for nomination to public office, please ask them how they are taking responsibility for the dismal education system in the state of Illinois.
Remember their responses when you sign a petition and cast your ballot. That is how we can all be part of the solution.
Laurel Bault
Elgin