Dive Brief:

• In the state of Illinois, a new plan proposed by state Dems over how public school funding is allocated would take money from wealthier districts and redistribute it in poorer areas.
• The goal of the redistribution plan is to make education in the state more equitable to all Illinois students; it will transform the way property taxes are used by lending more weight to local wealth.
• According to the Education Trust's 2015 study, the state of Illinois has the biggest gaps in funding between rich and poor students in the entire country, with disadvantaged students receiving 20% less education funding than their peers.

Dive Insight:

Some advocates and union leaders have placed blame on Gov. Bruce Rauner and state legislators for failing to create a new funding plan for schools, and it seems politicians are finally considering reform. This new plan is likely to be controversial, but it may be a step in the right direction towards helping disadvantaged students and schools.

Recently, the Chicago Teachers Union organized a strike in Chicago that left hundreds of thousands of students without classes. Last Friday, a rally held in the plaza in front of the Thompson Center, the city's state government building, boasted around 5,000 participants. The union and the district have not reached an agreement on compensation, pension and staffing levels.