COOK COUNTY, Ill. — The Illinois Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit against Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, claiming her office has repeatedly failed to disperse hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax funds to the county’s public school districts, as required by state law.
The IFT represents 105,000 teachers and paraprofessionals in PreK-12 school districts throughout Illinois, including Chicago Teachers Union members and union members throughout the suburbs, as well as faculty and staff at the state’s community colleges and universities, and retirees. The lawsuit was filed Monday.
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The IFT says the failure of the Treasurer’s Office to disperse property tax funds has resulted in “school communities across the county … facing budget shortfalls, educator layoffs, and furlough days that will shortchange students and families.”
In its lawsuit, the IFT is seeking a court order requiring the Treasurer’s Office to disperse all property tax funds in its possession to school districts and other units of local government, as required by state law, and to compensate school districts for damages caused by the delay in funding disbursement…