Eye On Illinois: Will compromise plan extend, reduce Invest in Kids scholarships?

Very little of note has happened during the fall veto session, which started Oct. 24 and resumes Tuesday for three final days.

Advocates of the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit program have ramped up pressure to extend it past a scheduled Dec. 31 sunset, and although the governor has indicated he’d sign whatever the General Assembly advances, whether there is any actual momentum for such an effort remains unclear.

Lawmakers created the program in 2017 while passing landmark public school funding reform. Invest In Kids gives up to $75 million per year to private school scholarships. The money comes from donors – individuals and business – who get 75 cents of every dollar, up to a million, back in the form of a state income tax credit. Donors cannot take a tax credit if they claimed any portion of the contribution as a federal income tax deduction.

Capitol News Illinois spoke to Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, who said, “There have been many fruitful conversations and with the clock ticking, our message has been consistent: 9,500 kids are waiting for a decision.”

That means we’re talking about about $7,900 per affected student, or $877 for each of the nine school year months. Those are significant figures for many families. According to Census data, the state’s median household income (in 2021 dollars, from 2017-2021) is $72,563.

The CCI counts 3.5 million Illinois Catholics, about 27% of the overall population. While acknowledging not all private schools are parochial, and that plenty of religious people use public schools, the macro math shows it’d take $21.50 from each individual Catholic – or $6 from each Illinoisan – to raise $75 million to replace the funds.

It’s important to note the $75 million doesn’t come out of the state budget at the expense of public schools. In the five years of Invest In Kids, state spending on public education is up more than $2 billion. But there are lots of state agencies that could put $75 million to good use and none of them have an incentive deal with the Department of Revenue.

Likewise, no one has explained why a donation to a private school scholarship fund carries different incentives than contributions to things like food banks, heating assistance, homeless shelters or other important strands in the social safety net.

One idea that seems to have legs is House Bill 4194, which cuts the program to $50 million, halves the individual donation cap to $500,000 and aims to direct scholarships to poorer communities. CNI says the plan is unpopular among the hard right, but that bloc alone lacks the votes to sideline anything.

With little else happening, this issue is one to watch.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.