On Thursday, September 16, 2021, Illinois State Representative Tony McCombie discussed her support for “transparency and accountability before school closures.” She described the need for House Bill 1785, which was co-sponsored by McCombie this Spring and signed into law by Governor J. B. Pritzker this Summer.
McCombie made no bones about why she supported the bill. She cited her experience with the proposed closure of the West Carroll High School (WCHS) building, and consolidating all the students into the Primary and Middle School buildings, closing the High School in Savanna.
In January 2020, McCombie told the School Board that, “with the [USP Thomson] prison and more people coming in, families are looking at three factors when choosing a community: schools, hospitals, and grocery stores. If we stop investing in our community, we won’t have growth.”
As a State Representative, McCombie said she understands that sometimes a School District must make “hard decisions that hurt people but are the right decisions.” However, she said before any District decides to close a building, it must prove to the public that such an action will improve the quality of education in the community.
House Bill 1785, which was effective July 30, 2021, requires a School Board hold at least three public hearings, prior to closing a school building, unless the building has been deemed unsafe by a licensed entity.
“This is a significant step in the right direction for openness and transparency with tax dollars,” said McCombie. “It’s simply incredible that this scenario happens so often throughout Illinois….Democrats and Republicans in Springfield have to come together, to fight behind-closed-door practices by wayward leadership who disregard public input.”
More on this and other issues can be found at Rep. McCombie’s Legislative website at repmccombie.com.