093_HJ0024
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1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The right to a quality education is a
3 fundamental right Illinois owes to all of its children; and
4 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is over-reliant on
5 property taxes to fund education; and
6 WHEREAS, This over-reliance on property taxes has created
7 a number of problems for education funding, tax equity, and
8 economic development across the State of Illinois; and
9 WHEREAS, In particular, the State's over-reliance on
10 property taxes is a primary cause of the significant
11 differences between per student education funding across the
12 State; and
13 WHEREAS, The over-reliance on property taxes also has
14 created significant hardships for rural areas of the State,
15 for areas of concentrated poverty in urban areas of the
16 State, and for senior citizens on fixed incomes in
17 gentrifying areas of the State; and
18 WHEREAS, Numerous commissions and task forces, such as
19 the Ikenberry Commission and the Governor's Education Funding
20 Advisory Board, have recommended that Illinois assume primary
21 responsibility for funding education by reducing its reliance
22 on property taxes and using more State-based revenue to fund
23 education; and
24 WHEREAS, Any changes the State makes in how it funds
25 education should ensure that:
26 (i) Every school district in the State has sufficient
27 financial resources to fund a quality education;
28 (ii) No school district loses money as a result of the
29 reform; and
30 (iii) The State-based revenue sources used to replace
31 property taxes are adjusted through the use of credits or
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1 other tax relief, so that the State does not create
2 additional financial burdens for low-income and
3 moderate-income families and senior citizens; therefore,
4 be it
5 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
7 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created a Joint
8 Committee on Property Tax Reform and School Funding Reform
9 which shall be charged with reforming the State's fiscal
10 system to ensure it is fundamentally sound, fair, and capable
11 of funding a quality education for all Illinois children; and
12 be it further
13 RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee on Property Tax Reform
14 and School Funding Reform shall be comprised as follows:
15 seven members of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of
16 the House appointing four, with one serving as
17 co-chairperson, and the Minority Leader of the House
18 appointing three; and seven members of the Senate, the
19 President of the Senate appointing four, with one of them
20 serving as co-chairperson, and the Minority Leader of the
21 Senate appointing three; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That the Joint Committee on Property Tax Reform
23 and School Funding Reform meet at least twelve times during
24 the 93rd General Assembly and summarize its findings and
25 recommendations in a report to the General Assembly no later
26 than December 31, 2004.