School vouchers, rooted in segregation, don't belong in Illinois
Gov. JB Pritzker told WBEZ that he is evaluating whether to opt-in to President Donald Trump’s new federal school voucher program through a "lens focused on affordability for working families and what best supports Illinois, families and public schools."
If supporting our students and public schools is truly the goal, the voucher program moves us in the opposite direction.
Vouchers are not a new innovation; they are a policy rooted in exclusion. History tells us that voucher efforts in our country grew out of resistance to school desegregation, and these programs have often coincided with greater racial and economic inequality in education. We cannot discuss school vouchers in good faith without considering the origins of these programs and asking ourselves, do we want to retreat to outdated, discriminatory programs, or are we looking ahead to build something better?
Existing voucher research finds that primarily affluent families who already have children attending private schools are the ones who are most likely to benefit from the voucher program. Our public schools educate the vast majority of Black, Brown, low-income and immigrant students in Illinois. Strengthening our public school system through full and fair funding is the most direct ways to advance education equity, not pushing forward programs that only benefit the select few.
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and our coalition partners with PEER Illinois recently joined more than 45 organizations in a letter urging Pritzker to decline participation in this federal program.
At a time when the federal government is actively working to dismantle educational protections, Illinois has the opportunity to reject these exclusionary schemes and advance Illinois’ role as a national leader in public education.
True affordability and support are not found in a voucher. It is found in a fully funded public school in every neighborhood. Gov. Pritzker — don’t let Illinois be sold on a program that leaves the majority of our children behind. Rejecting schemes that divest us from our public schools and moving forward with urgency towards fully funding our public schools is the true path towards educational justice.
Beatriz Diaz-Pollack, public school parent, former educator, lawyer and director, education equity, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.
More cycling safety awareness
Last week while riding a CTA bus, we passed a corner with a ghost bike that had not been there a week earlier. Since I frequently ride a bicycle, I am sensitive to the circumstances leading to ghost bikes — roadside memorials placed where a cyclist was killed or injured.
The Sun-Times' recent story about Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias' effort to regulate electric bikes leaves unaddressed the danger of bike riding generally. For example, I rarely see bicyclists signaling as they weave through Chicago traffic. Some have adapted by sidewalk riding in commercial zones. Perhaps the secretary of state can provide bike shops with bike rules of the road. I had to get my copy during a visit to a secretary of state location. More needs to be done.
Jim Halas, Norridge
Trump’s authoritarianism mirrors Argentina’s Juan Perón
Who says Donald Trump dislikes South America? He's imported Peronism lock, stock and corrupt barrel, tariffs be damned. And Melania Trump has just made her film debut as Eva Peron 2.0, reviews be damned.
Douglas Bukowski, Berwyn