Rev. Jesse Jackson has accomplished a number of triumphs in his 40 years of service as a civil rights leader, but he said that none brings him more joy than helping those with little opportunities get access to a college education.
But the in the state of Illinois, that objective can be difficult to achieve under the current education funding system based on property tax assessments.
The non-parity of schools between the wealthy and poor in Illinois will be the focus of a multi-racial march and rally on Saturday to demand fairness in education, Jackson told the Chicago Defender Thursday.
"The present tax structure builds into it a structure of inequality," Jackson said. "Those who have a strong tax base have a strong education base, and those who have a lower tax base have a weaker education base."
Jackson said his coalition on Saturday, led by his Rainbow/PUSH organization, will focus on pushing Illinois House Bill 750, which would decrease the emphasis in property taxes and put more focus on collecting income taxes.
The end result would be a $2 billion increase in funding for education and would promote equality in all Illinois school districts.
The house bill is championed by Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budge Accountability, an Illinois fiscal policy think tank.
According to Martire, people whose incomes fall into the lower 60 percent will actually pay less in taxes overall, while others above that mark will likely pay more - although their net tax increase would be small, he said.
"People that claim that this is a too big of a tax have no concept of the Illinois economy," Martire said. "All the attacks against this bill are nonsense. They're not based on any data. But nobody really wants to talk about the facts, they want to talk emotionally about the taxes."
Jackson said that Gov. Rod Blagojevich and gubernatorial Republican candidate Judy Baar Topinka should debate this issue in low-income communities and offer a solution for fairness in education funding.
"Education is the key to economic growth, to college access," Jackson said. "It's the key to healthcare, it's the key to a long life expectancy.
"I think we as a people can no longer settle for second-class education. If that was wrong in 1954, it's wrong in 2006. We march to raise people's consciousness, and the struggle will not be over with the march."
Jackson also pointed out the importance of having an airport on the South Side of Chicago to help spur money for the education and community growth.
"There is no economic generator on the South Side," Jackson said. "If you have an airport, that will bring a Fed-ex, which will bring other businesses and restaurants, which will spur home building. And that will increase the property tax base."
The march will start at noon at the Federal Plaza, at Dearborn and Adams streets, and culminate at the Thompson Center, located at Randolph and Clark streets.
Members from the Chicago Teachers Union, Judge Greg Mathis, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) and other dignitaries are expected to join the march and rally.
Medill News Service contributed to this report.
[Sidebar]
"I think we as a people can no longer settle for second-class education. If that was wrong in 1954, it's wrong in 2006.We march to raise people's consciousness, and the struggle will not be over with the march."
- Rev. Jesse Jackson
[Author Affiliation]
by Demetrius Patterson
Defender Staff Writer
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