“I do not believe the majority party nor Gov. Pritzker intend to fund the school construction grants now or anytime in the future.”

So said state Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, responding to an email I sent her about the dozens of school districts waiting decades to see funding for projects that met eligibility requirements for the construction grants program enacted in 1997. The idea, as a May 20 column detailed , was “largely to address the shortage of classroom space due to population growth or aging buildings.”

It’s not surprising the 2026 budget didn’t allocate the long-awaited money, especially given how frequently elected officials insisted it was a difficult financial year with limited resources for increased demands.

It’s also not surprising to see Republicans blasting a

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