Some School Boards Want to Change Illinois Constitution

Some School Boards Want to Change Illinois Constitution

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A group of Illinois school boards wants to change the state’s constitution.

They say that’s the only way to force Illinois to spend more on public education.

State Senator Miguel Del Valle of Chicago agrees. He says all previous efforts to provide equal education have failed.

“We’ve tried the courts, the courts have failed us,” he says. “We’ve tried the legislative process, the legislative process has failed us. We haven’t received the kind of leadership that we need from the chief executive officer of the state of Illinois, and so, that being the case, what alternatives are left?”

Educators are already looking forward to a possible Illinois constitutional convention in 2008.

Del Valle says supporters want to write language into the constitution that would specify the state’s responsibility to pay for schools.

A spokesman for the Illinois Association of School Boards says its members will use their political weight to push for a constitutional convention in 2008.