Shortly before the House passed Senate Bill 1947 on Monday, Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) told his fellow representatives that bipartisan compromise had finally come about.
“The last two times I spoke on this floor, I implored us as a body to work together, to not just continue to build pressure but rather build consensus,” Wheeler said, as shown in a YouTube video posted by the House GOP. “In some form I think this is what this particular bill in front of us has done.”
The bill, Senate Bill 1947, includes compromises on both sides, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and creates the evidence-based distribution formula put forward in SB1, the state's original funding measure. It will also create a tax credit scholarship program championed by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego)
Wheeler asked for several clarifications about the tax credit program, including what measures will be put in place to ensure transparency, and ultimately determined that the program will help low-income families.
"This is a rare opportunity in my tenure here for us to actually look at what we can call a bipartisan success,” Wheeler said. “We haven’t done a lot of that lately. It’s time for us to step up, help our kids, help our teachers, administrators, families, and get something done for Illinois.”
After House passage, the Bill was approved by the Senate on Tuesday and now awaits Rauner's signature.
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