West Cook News

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has announced plans to pump $70 million into his Teacher Pipeline Grant Program in hopes of attracting more teachers to the state’s public schools.

“All across the nation, school districts are fighting the impact of teacher shortages — as education professionals struggle to weigh their passion for their classrooms with their own mental, financial and personal wellbeing,” the governor said during a recent visit to Streamwood High School in Elgin, as reported by Illinois Policy. “So as part of my education investment plan, I’m proposing an additional $70 million annually specifically targeted at addressing teacher shortages.”

There are more than 5,300 vacancies in Illinois public schools, with nearly half of the open positions being for paraprofessionals rather than traditional teachers, the report said.

Illinois public schools has lost nearly 180,000 students and gained just over 4,500 full-time teachers over a decade-long period beginning in 2011, a 2022 Illinois Policy report said. Many students have left since the COVID-19 pandemic, while the increase in teachers is likely due to new hiring with the help of federal pandemic funds.

Schools get 61.5% of Illinois’ property taxes, which are the second-highest in the nation. Unless lawmakers amend the Illinois Constitution, residents will continue to have to deal with rising property taxes due to the state’s enormous pension debt.

The Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), the largest public pension fund in the state, only has approximately 44% of the funds it needs to pay retirees; Illinois Policy said. In 2022, the system’s pension debt had reached $80.6 billion. The TRS is one of five statewide systems that have a combined $140 million less than what is needed to pay for retirement benefits, and another $70 billion in local pension debt brings the state’s total pension burden to $210 billion. That amount equates to a bill of approximately $42,600 per Illinois household.