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Chicago Public Schools receive $235 million
in overpayments from Illinois taxpayers; Rep. Pihos files reform package to
hold Chicago accountable. In response to recent revelations that
Illinois taxpayers overpaid Chicago Public Schools (CPS) by $235 million in
block grant funds for the 2011-2012 school year, Representative Sandy Pihos has
filed a package of bills that would repeal the preferential block grant funding
for CPS and require CPS to submit claims for reimbursement of special education
costs, just like the other 859 school districts throughout Illinois are
required to do.
According to Pihos, the root of the problem can be traced to a
lack of accountability with how grant money is sent to CPS and a failure within
CPS to comply with reporting mandates required within the Illinois School Code.
Whereas every other public school
district in the state gets reimbursed for services delivered, current law
allows CPS to receive their block grant money up front. For 2011-12, CPS received $483.7 million in
block grants, but provided only $249 in student benefits. Nearly 30 percent of special education funding
was earmarked to CPS, which only had 16 percent of the special education
student population in the state.
