Educators rally for full funding
Advocating full educational funding, multiple unions are uniting in a “People Over Profits” statewide campaign, entitled Fair Funding Fridays. Education unions gathered at Normal’s Uptown Circle on Friday, February 6, to echo that call.
The Fair Funding Friday priorities include: “smaller classes and more resources in K-12 schools, affordable higher education tuition, public worker pensions honored, and safe, strong communities.”
Participating unions were under both the Illinois Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO) and the Illinois Education Association (IEA) banners. Speakers included United Faculty of Illinois State University (IFT) President Doctor Ashley Farmer, State Representative Sharon Chung, IEA President Karl Goeke, IFT Executive Vice President Cyndi Oberle-Dahm, AFSCME Local 1110 President and AFSCME Council 31 Vice-President Chuck Carver, Illinois Association of Retired Americans Vice-President Elston Flowers, who is a retired Pontiac IEA member and teacher, and ISU student Andrew Franson. Sarah Hall from the ISU Education Association was the MC.
Farmer said, “It’s been said budgets are moral documents. Budgets show where priorities are and not just what, but who is valued. Workers in Illinois have been undervalued for too long.
“Despite multiple years of record enrollments that have seen students living in dorm lounges, the ISU administration is implementing a new ‘Hunger Games’ style budget model, which will force departments and colleges to compete for funds and is demanding that everyone who works here figure out how to do more with less. …Is that what education should be about? We cannot continue to undercut schools or other social services in Illinois.”
A recurring statement was for a “millionaire and billionaire tax.” In 2020, Illinois voters failed to pass a constitutional amendment to implement a graduated income tax. Some Illinois legislators have proposed another ballot initiative to raise taxes on wealthier citizens. Representative Chung noted that effort in her remarks and encouraged the rally to “keep working, we have to lift each other up.” In 2025, the General Assembly first allotted three percent, and Governor Pritzker then withheld two percent of funding for higher education in the state budget. Chung called on Governor J.B. Pritzker to “release the two percent.”
Carver, who represents building, food, and other service workers at ISU, said that “the MIT living wage calculator reflects a living wage for a single adult in this county is $20.24. 137 out of our 350 bargaining unit employees earn under this living wage. … For example, a single employee with no children earning $16.60 per hour, nets around $980 per paycheck after deductions for taxes, health and dental insurance, and pension. That results in less than $2000 per month to live on.” With the high housing costs in Bloomington-Normal, he noted that many university employees are living below the poverty line. Local 1110’s contract expired on June 30, 2025.
The IEA’s Goeke noted that educators are “trusted with the children of the nation. We need to put people before profits.” Oberle-Dahm echoed those comments, endorsing the graduated income tax referendum. She cited Massachusetts, which enacted a similar measure, and stated that the wealthy did not flee the state because of the higher tax rate.
Student Andrew Franson shared that some student services, such as mental health access, are rationed, and that in last year’s first contract between ISU and UFISU, professors had to bargain for door locks in emergency situations.
Participating organizations include McLean County IFT-AFT locals United Faculty-ISU, University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100; Unit 5 and Bloomington Education Associations (IEA), Illinois Alliance of Retired Americans, and the newly formed IEA Lab Schools Education Association and ISU Student Support Personnel (UPI-IFT). Additional Fair Funding Friday events are planned for March 6, April 10, and May 1.