Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is calling on Illinois’ downstate and suburban taxpayers to bail out its financially beleaguered public school district even though an analysis of Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) data shows Champaign-area property taxpayers are already subsidizing a Chicago school system that spends considerably more than their own.
Chicago spent $15,120 per student in 2014, or more than 36 of 39 school districts analyzed in Champaign, Vermilion, Piatt, Douglas and Livingston counties. And more than half of Chicago’s money -- $7,560 (51 percent) -- came from state and federal subsidies.
Chicago local property taxpayers currently pay for just 49 percent of Chicago’s Public School spending.
Only two area districts -- Armstrong-Ellis District 61 ($16,413 per student) and Armstrong Township District 225 ($16,391) -- spent more in 2014 than Chicago did. Both districts spent more because local property taxpayers contributed more, rather than outside subsidies.
Urbana District 116 spent $13,512 in 2014. Urbana property taxpayers covered 70 percent of the bill, or $9,566 per student. That’s $2,006 more than Chicago property taxpayers spent on their own schools, according to ISBE.
Champaign District 4 spent $13,038. Its property taxpayers paid for 81 percent it, or approximately $3,000 more per-student than Chicago.
Chicago’s per-student spending was 70 percent higher than Monticello District 25, which spent $8,932 per student. But Monticello property taxpayers still paid more than Chicago’s did, fronting 90 percent ($7,994) of their own bill.
Monticello received $750 per student from the state in 2014. Chicago received $5,141.
Emanuel and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) are asking for another $1,250 per student, for a total of nearly $6,500 from the state. They have sought to justify the bailout, decrying the city’s school funding levels as “unfair” and “inequitable.”
Champaign Area School Districts Ranked vs. Chicago by Per-Student Spending
| District | % Local Funds | Total Per-Student Spending | |
| 1 | Armstrong-Ellis 61 | 69% | $16,413 |
| 2 | Armstrong Township 225 | 82% | $16,391 |
| 3 | Chicago | 49% | $15,120 |
| 4 | Urbana 116 | 71% | $13,512 |
| 5 | Champaign 4 | 81% | $13,038 |
| 6 | Rantoul Township 193 | 59% | $12,108 |
| 7 | Deland-Weldon 57 | 84%
| $12,049 |
| 8 | Homer Heritage 8 | 76% | $11,688 |
| 9 | Thomasboro 130 | 46% | $11,013 |
| 10 | Danville 118 | 33%
| $10,956 |
| 11 | Jamaica 12 | 64% | $10,661 |
| 12 | Rantoul 137 | 35% | $10,574 |
| 13 | Arthur 305 | 69% | $10,547 |
| 14 | Hoopeston 11 | 35% | $10,305 |
| 15 | Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 5 | 66%
| $10,176 |
| 16 | Bismarck Henning | 59% | $10,170 |
| 17 | St. Joseph-Ogden 305 | 78% | $10,057 |
| 18 | Bement 5 | 73% | $9,945 |
| 19 | Potomac 10 | 44% | $9,904 |
| 20 | Prairieview-Ogden 197 | 83% | $9,736 |
| 21 | Ludlow 142 | 52% | $9,698 |
| 22 | Paxton-Buckley-Loda 10 | 60% | $9,696 |
| 23 | Georgetown-Ridge Farm 4 | 35% | $9,442 |
| 24 | Okaw Valley 302 | 65% | $9,269 |
| 25 | Caitlin 5 | 54% | $9,250 |
| 26 | Monticello 25 | 90% | $8,932 |
| 27 | Mahomet-Seymour 3 | 60% | $8,852 |
| 28 | Villa Grove 302 | 52% | $8,805 |
| 29 | Tolono 7 | 60% | $8,792 |
| 30 | Oakwood 76 | 45% | $8,757 |
| 31 | Cerro Gordo 100 | 64% | $8,513 |
| 32 | Gifford 188 | 70% | $8,424 |
| 33 | Westville 2 | 25% | $8,388 |
| 34 | Rossville-Alvin 7 | 48% | $8,357 |
| 35 | St. Joseph 169 | 59% | $8,298 |
| 36 | Sullivan 300 | 46% | $8,265 |
| 37 | Tuscola 301 | 81% | $8,222 |
| 38 | Arcola 306 | 59% | $8,163 |
| 39 | Fisher 1 | 70% | $7,669 |
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