MinonkTalk webmaster Dave Uphoff told Senator Rutherford that the major concern of everyone in the community was the school funding crisis. Uphoff asked Rutherford if the State is sympathetic to the school's financial problems.

Rutherford said that he cannot support the proposed bill 750 in its present form. Bill 750 would increase the state income tax and coporation tax to provide funding for education. It also would provide some property tax relief. Rutherford said his main objections are two-fold. First, the amount of money raised by the bill would be $2 billion more than what is needed to fund education. Secondly, the bill does not prevent school districts from increasing the tax levy after the state has provided its required funding. He said until these two sticking points are removed he cannot support the bill.

Rutherford said that citizens must put pressure on the teacher associations and other education groups to accept the stipulation that a tax levy cannot be increased after the state provides its agreed upon
funding.

According to Rutherford, the state's financial woes are getting worse. He said that even though Governor Rod Blagojevich promised to cut spending, the state budget is $1 billion greater since the governor took office. Rutherford commented that the govenor's attempt to raise money through the sale of numerous enterprises like the Thompson building in Chicago has not materialized and has resulted in a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars.