The education funding civil rights lawsuit the Chicago Urban League filed against the State of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education last year picked up steam Wednesday when a Cook County Circuit Court judge said the suit had merit and could
The education funding civil rights lawsuit the Chicago Urban League filed against the State of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education last year picked up steam Wednesday when a Cook County Circuit Court judge said the suit had merit and could proceed forward. The lawsuit indicates that the current system of funding public education in Illinois is unconstitutional because it discriminates against families based on race and has deprived Black, Latino and other minority children of a high quality education, and is a violation of the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003. “Our current way of funding schools is discriminatory,” Cheryle Jackson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, said during a press conference at the Thompson Center following the hearing. “We want all schools to be good including those on the South and West Side of Chicago and those in rural communities as well.” Attorney Lisa Scruggs, of the law firm Jenner & Block, is representing the Urban League, and the state is represented by Ill. Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office. Scruggs said it appears that the state is trying to drag the case out by continually asking for more time to prepare a response to the lawsuit after it failed to have the case thrown out. “We appreciate that the judge recognizes how important this issue is by allowing us to move forward with our suit,” Scrugss said at the Wednesday press conference. A Madigan spokeswoman, Robyn Ziegler, told the Defender in an e-mailed statement that, "This is a very serious matter, and the attorney general’s office is treating the case very seriously. Attorney General Madigan believes that all Illinois school children are entitled to fair and equitable school funding." At odds, Jackson said, is funding disparities that currently exist between inner city and rural school districts and wealthy suburban districts. The Rev. Marshall Hatch, a community activist and pastor at New Mt. Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church––and supporter of the Urban League’s suit, said with next year’s election quickly approaching, voters should remember those who do not support this lawsuit. “Anyone that does not sign on to support this cause do not deserve to be elected in 2010,” the West Side pastor said at the press conference. Sheila Wesonga, president of the Parents Advisory Council at Kenwood Academy high school, said she wants to know where state leaders, including Gov. Pat Quinn, stand on the matter. ______ Copyright 2009 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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