Educational funding in this state is a national joke. SB 750 is a viable solution that will shift the tax burden from low-income and middle-income earners to the upper-middle income and the wealthy. At the same time it will provide property tax relief that is badly needed for homeowners in Champaign County. And as a bonus, it will properly fund the state pension system, instead of stealing those funds from the University of Illinois.

Another reason to support SB 750 is that the citizens of Champaign County support it. In the Big. Small. All. County Visioning Process, residents created and voted on a set of objectives to make the County a better place. The objective with the most votes states: “By 2030 all public schools will have the financial resources needed to provide quality instruction … funded from a proper balance of sources that significantly reduces dependence on property taxes.”

Does this sound familiar? We don’t have to wait until 2030; we can achieve this objective by the next fiscal year, as long as our representatives in Springfield have the courage to vote for SB 750.

This is not a tax increase for working families, as Naomi Jakobsson claims. If you account for the recent federal tax cuts, it is not even a tax hike for the rich. Please tell your representatives to support SB 750, it is what is right for working families and our children.

Jeffrey Engstrom Jr.

graduate student