Illinois teacher pay, school funding, ICE top concerns for residents, survey finds
Illinoisans want more money for public education, worry about ICE in schools, survey finds
A majority of Illinois residents want more funding for public education, higher wages for teachers, and are concerned about ICE agents coming to schools, according to a new survey.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A new survey released Monday by the Illinois Education Association reveals concerns about school funding, teacher pay, and the presence of ICE officers near schools.
What we know:
The survey was conducted January 26-29, by both Democrat polling firm, Normington, Petts and Associates, and Republican polling firm, Mercury Consulting, where they asked 1,000 Illinois residents their thoughts about the state of education.
The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.1% with 95% confidence.
Some of the survey's key findings include that the majority of the respondents, 53% feel teachers are paid too little. That number was higher, 60%, if you asked parents of students who attend public schools in Illinois. 55% of respondents supported more money going to public schools, and it got nearly two-thirds support, 66%, from parents of public school children.
"They know their home values are tied to their neighborhood schools, and that sends a clear message about the importance of investing in the public school system," said Pat Brady, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, now working for Mercury Consulting.
"We asked folks to tell us the first word or phrase that comes to mind when thinking about Illinois public school teachers," said Karl Goeke, president of IEA. "You can see 'dedicated' is the most mentioned, but 'underpaid, hard-working, underappreciated and overwhelmed' are right there. They support increases when hearing four of five schools are underfunded."
Fox Chicago confirmed for the first time in the survey's eight-year history, it asked residents about ICE activity. It found that 53% of respondents oppose ICE arresting and deporting immigrants in their community, compared to 40% of those who favor. It also found that 57% of respondents are worried that they, a student, a parent, or a school employee will be arrested on school property by ICE.
"This was a concern raised by school teachers in Illinois about what is happening at public schools in Illinois," said Jill Normington, from Normington, Petts and Associates.
"In the city of Chicago, a lot of this activity did revolve around the schools, we thought this was a very important question to ask," said Brady.
"Just this increase that we're seeing across the nation of using schools as a place to target, it deeply concerns me," said Goeke.
It comes after this past October, when some in Little Village voiced concerns about ICE officers reportedly using Chicago Public Schools parking lots at Lazaro Cardenas Elementary School, and Farragut High School, to conduct ICE activity. There's also video that went viral showing a woman getting pulled from her car near a school pick-up line in West Loop.
"I know that students do better when they're free from fear and when students are concerned and when parents are concerned about sending their students to school because they're scared about what could happen to them, students don't learn as well." said Goeke.
IEA is the state's largest education employee union which represents about 135,000 members, including prek-12 teachers outside of the city of Chicago. It also represents education support staff members and college faculty members.
Dig deeper:
Fox Chicago asked IEA about the next steps with these findings, and what members are requesting from lawmakers at the state and federal levels. A spokesperson said they wanted Illinoisans to think about ICE in their communities and near their schools. IEA also wanted to let Illinois residents know about the recent tactics by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security go against previous policies, which include banning enforcement actions in "protected areas" such as schools, churches and hospitals.
IEA said teacher pay is just one issue causing a teacher shortage in Illinois and across the country. It said the organization was instrumental in helping pass a statewide minimum teachers' salary of at least $40,000 a year, but it's not enough. The organization wants to reform the state's two-tiered pension system, which they believe is unfair.