North Cook News

State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines), a graduate of St. Louise de Marillac in Northfield, is being criticized for not having adequate information regarding the Invest In Kids Tax Credit Scholarship program. 

Murphy is one of several Illinois legislators who have personally benefitted from private school education but has now made a decision to deny qualified scholars of obtaining education from a private school. She voted for a budget that will halt the scholarship program despite being able to meet with school leaders at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic School to discuss Invest In Kids and has been provided its positive impact. 

“Our Superintendent asked me to meet with Illinois State Senator Laura Murphy regarding the Invest In Kids Act,” Dr. Erika Mickelburgh, St. Paul of the Cross Catholic School principal said in a bulletin. “Tuesday, other Catholic school principals in her legislative district and I, along with the Director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, met to share the positive impact of the Invest In Kids Act and advocate for its extension beyond the targeted sunset of this legislation in 2023. Since the legislation's inception, St Paul of the Cross has served over 40 families through this program with valuable scholarships!” 

Mickelburgh said Murphy was critical of the program. 

“Senator Murphy claimed that the criticism of the legislation is that Catholic schools are not held to the same assessment standards as public schools, that we do not assess our students, and we do not have to follow state guidelines," Mickelburgh said. "This concern could not be farther from the truth. As you all know, we assess our students three times a year using IReady. Moreover, the legislation mandates that students receiving the tax credit scholarship be assessed a fourth time in the spring. This important aspect of the legislation has been strictly adhered to by all Catholic schools.” 

Mickelburgh added that Murphy said she had concerns about how the school handled Covid. 

“Her second concern was that Catholic schools were not mandated to follow Covid guidelines dictated by IDPH and disregarded the guidelines when opening in 2020-2022. We all know this claim couldn't be further from the truth. I am sure you all don't need reminders of the Covid guidelines of times past that this claim is wrong. If anything, we were stricter than recommended guidelines,” Mickelburgh wrote. “While my colleagues and I respectfully clarified the misinformation with regard to her woeful lack of awareness of the details of legislation and policies of the Illinois Board of Education, it is a concern that our elected official, who is up for reelection, is making an important decision that impacts so many families without doing her homework regarding the Invest in Kids Act legislation and the guidelines of the Illinois State Board of Education as it relates to non-public school recognition.”

Murphy is one of 35 of Illinois' 177 state legislators who attended private high schools. The private high school graduates include 10 Republicans and 25 Democrats, 15 of whom were raised in the City of Chicago.

The Democrat-led 3,500 pages state budget of $50.5 billion did not include the funding needed for the continuation of the Invest In Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program. The program allows donors to receive a tax benefit for donating to a state-maintained scholarship program for private schools for low-income families. It serves more than 9,000 K-12 students who are the beneficiaries of the Invest in Kids Tax Credit. 

“This is not something that’s been covered by the budget agreement," Gov. Pritzker said at a press conference announcing a budget deal had been struck. "It’s something that still has time, potentially, but it’s not something that’s in the budget agreement.” 

Critics highlighted the hypocrisy of lawmakers who agreed to sunset the program. Pritzker and other politicians had sent or were sending their own children to expensive private schools while denying the same opportunity to less fortunate students. The Wall Street Journal underscored the power dynamics between teachers' unions, Democratic lawmakers, and the failure of the public education system. The decision to shut down the scholarship program disregarded the needs of low-income students but prioritized the interests of unions over educational reform. The main reason behind the opposition to the program was the influence of teachers' unions, with the agenda to terminate it because its popularity highlighted the failures of public schools. 

Last year alone, the Invest in Kids program received more than 31,000 applications, signifying a high demand for alternatives to underperforming public schools. Many low-income families, particularly Black and Hispanic, supported the scholarship program because their assigned Illinois schools had low proficiency rates in reading and math. The failure of the public education system was evident from the fourth to eighth grades, leading to a high demand to seek options. However, the unions prioritized their power over student learning and pointed fingers at the schools' failures on lack of funding rather than addressing systemic issues. WSJ reports union leaders hold significant influence over Illinois lawmakers, who have received substantial campaign contributions from teachers' unions.