The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn takes a closer look at an important bipartisan effort underway in Illinois:
Contrary to all the obituaries, hope and change and a new spirit of bipartisanship are alive and well in Barack Obama’s America. Just not in Washington.
In the state legislature of post-Obama Illinois, a largely white Republican Party is joining forces with reform-minded African-American and Latino Democrats. Together they are challenging two establishments: machine Democrats backed by teachers unions, and suburban and downstate Republicans mostly indifferent to inner-city issues.
The vehicle is an educational voucher bill that needs only the approval of the full Illinois house to land on the governor’s desk. Introduced by the Rev. James Meeks–a powerful Democratic state senator who has also been one of Mr. Obama’s spiritual advisers–the bill provides a voucher of up to $4,000 for as many as 22,000 elementary students now languishing in the worst Chicago public schools. The voucher will give them the opportunity to attend the private school of their choice. The state Senate passed the measure last month, and last week the leadership-dominated House Executive Committee approved it by a vote of 10 to 1.
The article included a quote from my colleague Collin Hitt, Illinois Policy Institute’s Director of Education Policy, who noted:
“This legislation presents a revealing choice for everyone. Republican representatives have to decide whether they really want to reach out to African Americans and Latinos interested in working with them. Democratic legislators have an opportunity to show they are serious about education reform.”
Our FAQ answers a range of questions about the bill, including its neutral fiscal impact and a summary of academic results from other voucher initiatives, among other topics.
Newspapers across Illinois have editorialized in favor of the voucher bill. Will state legislators listen?
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