State of Illinois
92^nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB0326gms

                            State of Illinois
                         OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
                      Springfield, Illinois  62706
      George H. Ryan
      GOVERNOR
                                                    August 15, 2001
      To the Honorable Members of
        The Illinois Senate
      92nd General Assembly
          Pursuant to Article IV,  Section  9(b)  of  the  Illinois
      Constitution  of  1970,  I hereby veto and return Senate Bill
      326 entitled "AN ACT relating to schools."
          Senate Bill 326 amends the School code  to  allow  for  a
      tax-equivalent  grant  to be paid to a school district (other
      than the Chicago school district) if a United States military
      installation or base is located in the district.  Further, it
      provides that the school district must have students residing
      on the military installation or base who are in attendance in
      the district.
          Assuring that children have the resources they need for a
      good education is certainly a priority of my  administration.
      However,  this  legislation  would  set  a precedent that the
      State  supplement  federal  impact  aid  with  State  general
      revenue dollars.  According to the Illinois  State  Board  of
      Education it is estimated that Senate Bill 326 would cost the
      State of Illinois approximately $600,035 a year.  This amount
      would  rise  and  fall  yearly with changes in local property
      value.  The funds for these impact grants to school districts
      impacted by federal military installations  are  to  be  made
      from  a line item specifically appropriated for this purpose.
      No such funds were appropriated.
          It has been argued that  the  Federal  government  should
      have   the  same  responsibility  as  the  State  in  funding
      education in this situation and  therefore,  should  help  to
      defray  the  cost  of  the tax equivalent grant.  It was also
      argued during the House debate that  the  Federal  government
      has  an  obligation  to assist these school districts and the
      financial needs of all school districts must  be  considered.
      This  legislation  would  set  a bad precedent of using State
      resources to fulfill  the  financial  responsibility  of  the
      Federal government.
          For  these  reasons, I hereby veto and return Senate Bill
      326.
                                             Sincerely,
                                             George H. Ryan
                                             GOVERNOR

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