{"id":2522396,"date":"2025-12-17T19:32:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/il-house-speaker-not-even-close-to-school-choice-legislation\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T19:33:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T00:33:40","slug":"il-house-speaker-not-even-close-to-school-choice-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/il-house-speaker-not-even-close-to-school-choice-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"IL House Speaker: &#8216;not even close&#8217; to school choice legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fil-house-speaker-not-even-close-to-school-choice-legislation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2522396&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Speaker of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democrats-urge-biden-to-keep-chicago-prosecutor-probing-corrupt-pols\/\" title=\"Top Democrats Urge Biden to Keep Chicago Prosecutor Probing Corrupt Pols\">illinois house<\/a>, Emanuel &#8220;Chris&#8221; Welch, stated that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-are-we-going-to-tell-parents-watch-democratic-state-senator-break-from-party-confront-colleagues-over-school-choice\/\" title=\"\u2018What Are We Going To Tell Parents?\u2019: Watch Democratic State Senator Break From Party, Confront Colleagues Over ...\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">school choice<\/a> legislation<\/a> is currently far from passing in the state legislature.he said he would bring such legislation to a vote if 60 Democrats in the House support it, but that level of backing has not yet been achieved.Starting in 2027, private donations of up to $1,700 for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-support-school-choice-for-only-themselves\/\" title=\"Democrats ... ..... for Only Themselves\">school choice scholarships<\/a> will qualify for 100% federal tax credits, though each state must choose to opt in. Republicans in the Illinois House largely support school choice, but Democratic support is divided, with 78 Democrats in total. Welch emphasized the need for coalition-building similar to what was done for recent transit legislation. he also expressed admiration for Chicago&#8217;s Leo High School, a Catholic institution that benefits from school choice funding, highlighting its successes and the positive impact such legislation could have.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">IL House Speaker: &lsquo;not even close&rsquo; to school choice legislation<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2448366\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; The speaker of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\/\">Illinois<\/a> House says he would put <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/school-choice\/\">school choice<\/a> legislation up for a vote if 60 Democrats in his chamber supported it.<\/p>\n<p>Starting in 2027, private donations of up to $1,700 for school choice scholarships will be eligible for 100% federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tax-credits\/\">tax credits<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3924492\/brown-university-systematic-security-review-campus-soft-target\/\">Brown University vows &#8216;systematic security review&#8217; of campus after being labeled &#8216;soft target&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3920092\/civil-rights-complaint-portland-black-education-center\/\">Federal civil rights complaint targets Portland&rsquo;s $16 million race-focused education center<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3920243\/americans-dont-trust-feds-k-12-survey\/\">&#8203;&#8203;Americans don&rsquo;t trust feds in K-12 decisions, survey shows<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Each state has the choice to opt in.<\/p>\n<p>Illinois House Speaker Emanuel &ldquo;Chris&rdquo; Welch (D-Hillside) said school choice is a tough issue in the state legislature.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I have said, in our chamber, if you can get 60 Democrats to support it, we put it on the board and call the bill, but there&rsquo;s more work to do because they&rsquo;re not even close,&rdquo; Welch told <em>The Center Square<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>At Tuesday&rsquo;s transit bill signing in Chicago, Welch said school choice supporters need to build coalitions the way lawmakers did with transit legislation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It took coalitions to get us here. If they get to 60 Democrats in support of it, I&rsquo;d be happy to put it on the board,&rdquo; Welch said.<\/p>\n<p>Bills need 60 total votes to pass the Illinois House. Republican members have already expressed their support for school choice. There are 40 Republicans in the Illinois House. Including Welch, there are 78 Democrats.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Welch recently posted pictures on social media with members of a Catholic school community located on Chicago&rsquo;s South Side.<\/p>\n<p>Welch said he met with Leo High School Principal Shaka Rawls and the boys&rsquo; choir that appeared on national television this year.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think Leo High School, the Leo High School choir, Dr. Rawls, and everyone affiliated with that great institution are doing remarkable work,&rdquo; Welch said.<\/p>\n<p>The speaker said he also attended a Leo event.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They just celebrated their 100th anniversary. I was at that gala, and I&rsquo;m just so proud of what they&rsquo;re doing,&rdquo; Welch said.<\/p>\n<p>Rawls told <em>The Center Square <\/em>earlier this year that the school&rsquo;s cost per student is more than $15,000 a year, but tuition is only $9,300.<\/p>\n<p>Rawls said school choice legislation would be life-changing for Leo.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent blog post, Cato Institute Scholar Colleen Hroncich&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/americas-children-are-unwell-says-nyt-school-choice-should-be-part-solution\">said<\/a>&nbsp;bureaucrats and policymakers make the big decisions in public school systems.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/education\/3920092\/civil-rights-complaint-portland-black-education-center\/\">FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT TARGETS PORTLAND&rsquo;S $16 MILLION RACE-FOCUSED EDUCATION CENTER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;School choice flips this dynamic, shifting power to parents, who know their kids best,&rdquo; Hroncich wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Leo has <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >posted 100% graduation rates<\/a> for more than a decade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IL House Speaker: School choice bill far from enough support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2522397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP24129746902261.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[35136,35947,6413,4762,38091],"class_list":["post-2522396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-education-policy","tag-house-speaker","tag-illinois","tag-legislation","tag-school-choice"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP24129746902261.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2522396"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522400,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2522396\/revisions\/2522400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2522397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2522396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2522396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2522396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}