"WE ARE D300 AND IT'S OUR TURN!"
The latest update on the EDA extension. It is currently stalled.
Here is an update provided by D300 Superintendent Michael Bregy:
The following is an email that Superintendent Michael
Bregy sent to D300 families and staff at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November
29:
"The Illinois General Assembly has reached an impasse on
any and all versions of the Sears/CME legislation.
Leadership from the House of Representatives announced at about 7
p.m. tonight that there was not enough support for the legislation
(Senate Bill 397, House Amendments 3 and 4) for it to pass the
House. (A different version of the bill - House Bill 1883,
Senate Amendments 7 & 8 - did pass the Senate earlier in the day,
but the House voted it down by a large margin.)
So what happens next? The legislature has adjourned
for now. Legislators and D300 supporters will be returning
home tomorrow morning. We do know that the legislature will
return to Springfield when/if a new bill is created that political
leaders feel would have enough votes to pass the House and Senate.
But we don't know how soon that will be. It could be later
this week, it could be early next week, or it could take even
longer. We have been told to be on alert that D300 leaders and
supporters may need to return to Springfield at any moment, and we
are certainly prepared to do so.
The good news - relatively speaking - is we don't have any
reason to believe that the agreement that was finalized yesterday
regarding the Sears EDA will change. It appears that other parts of
the bill (CME Group tax changes, Earned Income Tax Credit changes,
etc.) are the sticking points that brought the legislature to a
standstill tonight. But of course we will continue to actively
monitor the situation to ensure that the Sears EDA portion stays
intact over the next few days and weeks.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support and patience."
The latest version of the legislation can be found at this link : http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/97/SB/09700SB0397ham003.htm