Friday, February 16, 2018

Chicago, IL – Today, the Pritzker campaign is continuing a new series, highlighting where Dan Biss’ campaign rhetoric is at odds with his record. Dan Biss says he’s a proven progressive, but he voted to increase funding for charter schools at the expense of neighborhood public schools. Let’s check the record.

Despite praising public education on the campaign trail, Dan Biss undermined public education by voting to shift tax dollars from neighborhood public schools to charter schools in 2012. CPS alone would have lost $126 million a year if the bill passed, but thanks to strong opposition from teachers unions and progressive groups, the bill was defeated. Biss’ support comes as no surprise given his unequivocal statement in 2010: “I support the charter school movement.”

“Were it not for teachers unions and progressive organizations standing up to him, Dan Biss would’ve stripped money from neighborhood public schools to fill the coffers of charters,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Public school children in Illinois deserve better than politicians like Bruce Rauner and Dan Biss siphoning critical dollars away from their education.”

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