Southwest Illinois residents would pay $40,074,180 more in state income taxes if the state agrees to increase school funding by $7.2 billion, according to a Southwest Illinois News analysis of Illinois Department of Revenue data.
Grade school districts in Tamaroa, Pinckneyville and Chester ranked among SW Illinois' lowest for math aptitude, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Grade school districts in Columbia, Waterloo and Valmeyer ranked among SW Illinois' highest for math aptitude, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Grade school districts in Tamaroa and Pinckneyville ranked among Illinois' lowest for math aptitude, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Many candidates running for office in Illinois, including Paul Jacobs, understand the issue of high property taxes, but sometimes it seems like runaway taxes are such an emergency for the public budget that it crowds out almost all of the other issues.