(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Hundreds of members of the Chicago Teachers Union traveled to Springfield Wednesday to lobby for more than $1 billion in additional state funding for the Chicago Public Schools.
Eric Waller, a teacher at Wells High School in the West Town Neighborhood, says the union is only asking for the amount of state funding he claims lawmakers promised years ago.
“Our school has been historically underfunded, under-resourced and understaffed. However, this year has been particularly challenging. We are struggling to serve our children adequately,” Walker said.
The union claims the additional state funding is needed to deal with issues such as class size, staffing and support services, especially as funds related to the COVID pandemic go away.
Republican State Senator Don DeWitte of West Dundee claims CPS already gets more than its fair share of state funding.
“For many years, CPS has received a disproportionate share of the state's education resources through special carve outs and unique grants,” DeWite said.
Some Republican lawmakers in Springfield also claim there are other school districts in Illinois that are in greater need of additional state funding than CPS.
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