SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-Tinley Park) voted against a proposal that would rewrite the school funding formula in Illinois.  

"There is no doubting the inequity in funding between schools across Illinois," Hastings said.  "However, Senate Bill 231 would have devastating effects on K-12 education throughout the south suburbs."

The proposed legislation would reduce general state aid for south suburban schools and require that local schools become more dependent on property taxes. Furthermore, SB 231 would result in nearly 11,000 of the 32,000 students in the 19th Senate District to lose funding for their education.  

Elementary and high schools across the 19th District could lose anywhere between $1 million to $4 million per school district annually.
 
"We pay an extraordinary amount of property taxes in the suburbs. SB 231 would cause our area to lose approximately $10 million in education funding and would shift this cost to residents by way of property taxes,” Hastings said. “As a former school board member, I worked hard to balance our budget and act financially responsible.  We should not punish responsible school boards, but we should demand fiscal responsibility of legislators in Springfield."

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) voted to send emergency funding to state universities and community colleges.

Senate Bill 2048 would ensure that all state universities, community colleges and MAP grants would receive some emergency funding to help with the current fiscal year. This is in addition to the Senate Bill 2059 which also sent emergency appropriations.

“Amidst our budget standoff, schools like Governor’s State and Chicago State were being starved and forced to make unfortunate decisions,” Hastings said. “Though a full higher education budget is still necessary, this will allow schools to continue to educate our students without making drastic decisions that only harm our students.”

The legislation would also send funding to schools that accept MAP grants to pay for a portion of the amounts that were awarded prior to the start of the fiscal year.

The legislation now moves to the House for further consideration

SPRINGFIELD—Senator Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) passed legislation that would protect private information of K-12 students throughout Illinois.

Senate Bill 229 would establish the Student Online Personal Protection Act. The legislation would prohibit the operator of a website or online service from using student data for anything that is not furthering the mission of the K-12 institution.

“Student data that was entrusted with companies should not be abused,” Hastings said. “Companies should not be using information they received for educational purposes to then try and make money off the students or their parents.”

Any violation of the legislation would constitute an unlawful practice for which the attorney general may take appropriate action under consumer fraud laws.

The legislation now moves to the House for further consideration.

SPRINGFIELD – Senator Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park) voted with many of his colleagues to override the governor’s veto of SB 2043.

Senate Bill 2043 would fund the MAP grant program and community colleges for FY 2016. The legislation was passed by the Senate and sent to the governor on February 16, but he vetoed it.

“This governor’s administration made a promise and all this legislation does is give him an opportunity to keep that promise. Our community college system is on the brink of collapse at the rate we are going and our most financially needy students are being sent away by many schools across the state,” Hastings said.

The legislation would appropriate $397.1 million to Illinois Student Assistance Commission to fulfill MAP grants. It would also appropriate $324.4 million to fund community colleges.

The legislation now moves to the House for a vote to override the governor’s veto.