On Thursday, August 31, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a highly-anticipated bill reshaping how Illinois funds public education statewide. Surrounded by prominent local politicians including State Senate President John Cullerton and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Rauner declared that “…we are making Illinois history,” despite the fact that the final legislation was tremendously different from the initial education bill he proposed.

The law is intended to provide monetary aid to impoverished districts statewide and enables the Chicago Board of Education to receive $450 million of state funding for the 2017-18 school year. The considerably large monetary sum results from the fact that the state government excluded Chicago teachers when contributing to the pensions of Illinois teachers. Believing the decision to be unfair, Emanuel claims that all of the parties involved are contributing to the effort to avoid the “train wreck” that was the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) financial situation.

Officials from Chicago Public Schools stated that schools will put $221 million towards employees’ pensions, $76 million towards providing money to school districts with more low-income students, $18.5 million in service of early education programs, and $13 million aiding bilingual education programs.

While the bill may be perceived as beneficial to CPS employees, it is not without faults and caveats. Illinois homeowners—according to the legislation—will experience a significant increase in taxes. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) leaders, including Vice President Jesse Sharkey, are in favor of the aforementioned funding formula. The bill is not flawless for those in support of public education because—as part of a political compromise—Rauner made Illinois the 18th state to offer a form of public support for religious or private schools. The CTU is opposed to this because it claims that it will benefit large corporations and billionaires, leaving small businesses and common citizens behind.