Coalition demands school funding parity

Coalition demands school funding parity

A coalition led by Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council is demanding changes in school funding through a shift from reliance on property taxes to reliance on statewide taxes. "It would be important to low income people," to make the shift, said MPC Vice President John McCarron.

"The tax burden would be a progressive distribution if it were based on an income tax and sales tax and taxes other than the property tax," he said, adding that residential real estate taxes ultimately result in higher rents in addition to greater costs to homeowners.

The coalition's plan, MPC said, is to reduce the "unconscionable gap in resources …