FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 12, 2021
CONTACT: Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, [email protected] 773-216-2067
Indivisible Illinois Demands a Vote on HB2267 Now
Senate President Harmon Must Call the Bill to the Floor for a Vote
CHICAGO, Illinois – Indivisible Illinois calls on Senate President Don Harmon to allow HB2267, a bill to establish an elected representative school board for Chicago, to come to the Senate floor for a vote. This debate over whether Chicagoans want an elected board has long ended—with over 90 percent of Chicago voters supporting the measure on two non-binding referenda. Both the Illinois House and Senate have overwhelmingly voted to support this reform, but have yet to get a final bill to the Governor’s desk for signature.
In light of last week’s fundamental attack on democracy and all that’s led up to it, and with the social uprising around deep racial divides in our nation, now more than ever we must heed the call for democracy in our schools.
Chicago families, voters, and taxpayers deserve to have the same voice that the rest of Illinois has in how their public schools are run, and Mayor Lightfoot campaigned on this important issue.
We firmly support HB2267 and stand with the school communities who have long asked for a say in how decisions are made about their schools. 97% of schools around the nation have an elected board and there’s no reason to withhold this right from CPS taxpayers and families. It’s time to stop disenfranchising Black and Brown voters in America, in every form.
Indivisible Illinois is a grassroots coalition dedicated to protecting democracy by ensuring safe and fair elections, and holding elected officials to their oath to represent all constituents fairly.
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Indivisible Illinois is part of the locally-led, people-powered Indivisible Project network, a grassroots American movement founded in 2016, with thousands of chapters in urban, suburban and rural areas, with at least two groups in every congressional district. Indivisible Illinois engages and empowers people in the Land of Lincoln, the Home of Obama, the Heart of the Midwest, to promote a progressive agenda, elect progressive leaders and realize progressive government.
