SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Whether state funding for public schools has risen or fallen under Gov. Pat Quinn has become a heated issue in the Democrat’s race against Republican challenger Bruce Rauner. Quinn says he’s increased it by $442 million from 2009-2015. Rauner says it has decreased $600 million. An Associated Press fact-check determined that who’s right depends on whose money you count, and what time period. Rauner counts federal aid in 2009, Quinn says it’s not fair to include that short-term fix the state couldn’t control. But the AP found that, even without federal assistance, state spending topped out in 2011 — and has fallen since.
Source: Illinois State Board of Education.
