CHICAGO-- Senator Bill Cunningham had the following statement in response to the Republican backed proposal of a state takeover of Chicago Public Schools:

“A state takeover and forced bankruptcy won’t help our teachers. We need to be working with them to get them the resources they need. Not trying to undermine their work and economic stability.”

On Monday, December 7, the Senate voted to pass SB 2039. The legislation would release many non-GRF funds to go where they belong. The Motor Fuel Tax money, or gas tax, is one of the group of funds being released to local governments.

“It is time that we give this money to the communities that need it for public safety issues, like fixing potholes,” said Senator Bill Cunningham, who voted to send gas tax revenue to local communities in May, as well.

CHICAGO – In an effort to reduce administrative costs and help hold the line on college tuition growth, State Senator Bill Cunningham (D-18) has proposed a series of reforms in how higher education executives in Illinois are compensated. These reforms were sparked by a report revealing inappropriate practices, including the recent scandals at the College of DuPage.

“Institutions of higher learning in our state have been plagued by recent controversies involving mismanagement or misconduct by college presidents, which cost taxpayers and tuition-payers millions of dollars in legal fees and severance payouts," Cunningham said. "We need to reform our laws to ensure more transparency and accountability in the administration of our public colleges and universities."

Springfield - Months of work by members of the media and the Illinois General Assembly have culminated in a special report detailing costly administrative practices at our state’s public universities and community colleges. The report brings to light growing administrative costs and generous executive compensation packages that have helped fuel tuition increases for Illinois students.

"This report found that many public colleges and universities have been too quick to award lavish benefits to their executives and increase the number of administrative employees they assign to non-instructional post," State Senator Bill Cunningham said. "While these practices are never welcome, they are particularly troubling during difficult budgetary times and when college tuition rates have grown faster than any other expenses faced by middle class families."

The initial draft report was issued by Senator Cunningham, who chairs the Illinois State Senate’s Higher Education Sub-committee on Executive Compensation. According to the report, presidents at public universities in Illinois often receive cash bonuses, country club memberships, and housing and vehicle allowances, this despite enjoying a median salary of nearly $300,000 a year.

“When you look at the numbers in this report, they indicate a trend of bloated administrations at our public universities and community colleges. If the General Assembly is going to invest more in higher education, we want to insure those investments are going directly into the classroom and not to more administration,” Senator Cunningham continued.

The special sub-committee was assembled and began work after a series of media reports detailing questionable contracts and severance packages for administrators at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn and at Illinois State University in Normal. The report covers public higher education institutions across the state and found similar instances of opaque negotiations, contract extensions approved without discussions and issues dealing with pensions, such as excessive sick-day buyouts.

The report goes on to explain possible reforms to limit these practices, including reforms to the Open Meetings Act as well as auditing reforms.

“I don’t think we are proposing anything too radical here. I think it’s mostly commonsense reforms that we are seeking here. Over the summer, we will have a series of hearings to take a closer look at the report and discuss proposed reforms,” Senator Cunningham said.

Please take a moment to read the report at the Illinois Senate Democrats website.