Chicago Schools to Get $100M From Federal Jobs Law

CHICAGO — The cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools will receive about $100 million from Illinois’ share of education funding in the new $26 billion federal jobs law, local and federal officials said Wednesday.

Illinois will receive a total of $1 billion from the bill President Obama signed Tuesday, including $415 million aimed at preserving teaching positions and $550 million for Medicaid programs. The state had been counting on receiving $750 million, but Congress extended the special Medicaid funding at a lower percentage.

“This extension is crucial in keeping our teachers in the classroom and funding Medicaid services for our most vulnerable citizens,” Gov. Pat Quinn said in a statement.

Struggling to erase $12 billion of red ink in the fiscal 2011 budget, Quinn has announced more than a $1.4 billion in cuts. It is unclear what cuts may be restored now that the long-delayed federal funding has been approved.

At a news conference Wednesday in Chicago, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said the education piece of the package will save about 5,700 jobs statewide. Chicago Public Schools will receive about one-fourth of the funds.

CPS proposed a $6.4 billion budget for fiscal 2011, before the federal jobs bill was signed into law, that drains district reserves and eliminates both administrative and teaching positions to help erase a $370 million deficit. A total of 2,000 positions have been cut due to the district budget crunch. The state also remains behind on more than $230 million in grant funding owed CPS.

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