Bugle Newspapers 10-19-23

OCTOBER 18, 2 0 2 3 • vol . 6 3 issu e 0 1

News from Plainfield • Joliet • Shorewood • Lockport • Crest Hill • Bolingbrook • Romeoville • Downers Grove • Westmont • Woodridge • Lisle • Niles • Morton Grove • Park Ridge & more

Lawmakers urged to continue to ‘Invest in Kids’ Type equation here.A nearcapacity crowd gathered in the chapel at Joliet Catholic Academy on Oct. 12 to show support for the Invest in Kids act and encourage lawmakers to retain the expiring program with a vote in November’s Veto session.

Family after family took to the microphone to tell a story, unique to themselves, but also very similar to each other.

Each speaker told of chasing a dream and how that dream of a private, religious, education for themselves or their children would not be possible without the aid of the Invest in Kids Act. The tax credit scholarship program provides donors a unique opportunity to fund scholarships for children who attend Illinois private schools while reducing their own tax bill on dollars otherwise owed to the state.

In August 2017, with bipartisan support, the Illinois House and Senate passed an education funding bill which included

see ‘ rally ’ page 5

Several local families shared their heartwarming stories of how the Invest in Kids Act has helped them and urged lawmakers to keep the program alive.

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Former pro athlete tells his story of drug abuse By dylan budd For the Bugle

Former NBA player and high school star Chris Herren visited Downers Grove South High School on Oct. 10 to tell his story to District 99 students and parents. The presentation was in preparation for Red Ribbon Week and Operation Snowball.

“I’ve been coming to this community for 13 years,” Herren said.

“The staff at North and South are phenomenal, and they give me the opportunity to give my presentation once every four years.”

Red Ribbon Week is an annual week to highlight the importance of a drug-free life. This year, it spans from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31.

Operation Snowball, on the other hand, is a trip for students at Downers Grove North and South, among other schools. The peer-led event is meant for an opportunity for social and emotional growth, with thought-provoking conversations in relation to real-world problems such as drugs and alcohol.

Herren is no stranger to drugs and addiction.

Through the entirety of his time in basketball, he struggled from one addiction to another, such as OxyContin, cocaine and even heroin. In his speech, Herren cited his first interaction with OxyContin, where he bought it from a childhood friend in need of extra cash.

“I told him if he needed money, he should just let me know,” Herren said. “I popped the pill into my mouth, closed the door, and went back to watching cartoons with my son, not knowing that decision would change our lives forever.”

Herren credits some of his decision making to his circumstances.

After initially going to Boston College after being a generational high school talent, he later was kicked out of the school on drug charges, to which he traded his maroon threads for Fresno State’s red.

He went on to be drafted by the

photo by dylan budd

Chris Herren speaks at Downers Grove South High School about his struggles with addiction .

Denver Nuggets, where he played for a year before being traded to his hometown Boston Celtics.

“I grew up right down the street from where the Celtics played, but unfortunately, I don’t recall much of my time there,” Herren said. “I was so entrenched in my addiction at that time that I couldn’t enjoy it. Any memory I made is diluted by my time as an addict.”

Herren has been sober since August 1, 2008. His sobriety saved his family from splitting and possibly saved his own life. Since being clean, Herren has found a second career in motivational speaking to encourage others not to go down the path he did.

“This career is incredibly rewarding,” Herren said. “I’ve spoken to rooms of 1,000 and rooms of 10, but as long as I can use my platform to influence even one

person, it makes the job worth every moment of it.”

He also founded the Herren Project, a nonprofit organization for addiction recovery.

More than $8.5 million in scholarships have been awarded to people in need of assistance for substance abuse.

Now, on the outside looking in, Herren believes a common trend with addiction is not from drug exploration, but a lack of selfesteem.

“A lot of kids aren’t comfortable with going to a party or a social gathering without being intoxicated in some way,” Herren said.

“They feel like they can’t be themself without the drug, and it says a lot about that person.”

For more information on Chris Herren and the Herren project, visit ttps://herrenproject.org/

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W E D N ES DAY, O C TO B E R 18 , 2 0 2 3 | b uglenewspapers. com | page 5 ‘ rally ’ from page 1 a new five-year program for Tax Credit Scholarships (TCS) for students in private schools to create more equity in school funding throughout Illinois. In fact, since the Invest in Kids program started, state and local funding to Illinois public schools has increased by nearly $2 billion even as total enrollment has declined.

Despite the program’s success, the Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program has a sunset clause which would end the program in December of 2023, unless state lawmakers vote to extend or make the program permanent.

The Illinois General Assembly did not address the renewal of the Invest in Kids Act Tax Credit Scholarship Program during the spring session, leaving the program in limbo heading into the fall veto sessions.

Representative Natalie Manley (D - 98th District), Senator Meg Loughran-Cappel (D - 49th District), Senator Rachel Ventura (D - 43rd District), Representative Harry Benton (D - 97th District), Representative Dagmara Avelar (D - 85th District) and Representative Larry Walsh (D - 86th District), were all invited to attend the town hall, but Benton was the only invitee to attend. A staff member from Manley’s office was in the audience.

Benton spoke and did take questions from the crowd.

“I don’t shy away from a conversation,” Benton said. “As you can tell with me being the only one here. I show up to a lot of different meetings and I will be here after if people want to have conversations.”

Although asked, Benton did not give his position on the program and which way his vote would go, saying only he was “looking at the opportunities.”

Benton also said that the Invest in Kids Act may not even go to vote.

“We (the Illinois House of Representatives) are only one portion,” he said. “Even if the House

is in favor of it and the Senate is not, we might not pull it to a vote because if the Senate is not for it, it doesn’t have an opportunity to pass.

“Whenever we look at a bill at look at an issue, we take a look at whenever the roll call is, and these are constant conversations – there are some people in favor and some people who are not,” Benton said. “As the entire House, we are looking at this bill and where it is going to go. Staff is actively looking at roll call to see where we are going to be and see if we are going to take this up at Veto. To be honest, I don’t know where we are going to be because roll call is split on things.”

Local Catholic school leaders are urging Illinois legislators to push leadership in the House and Senate to take up this matter with a standalone bill during veto session. Parents and scholarship recipients deserve to know where the representatives stand on this issue.

To the room of people that either heard the stories of how the Invest in Kids Act has helped families or who have been helped themselves, it seems shocking that there is any opposition to the program.

Benton acknowledged the heavy opposition from Illinois’ Public Teachers Unions as well as backers of Special Education Programs who want to see funding diversified.

“There is a lot of opposition coming from school funding models and public education versus private education,” he said.

“There are some folks that don’t qualify for these scholarships and they are looking at it as an unfair stepping stone for some kids versus a public education.”

Benton also stated that some lawmakers who may have been in favor of the program have been turned off.

“There are people that are good about the situation and there are people who are harassing people about the situation,” Benton said.

“Where people in the community

are hunting them down and chasing them about Invest in Kids – this is a hot topic. There are people that are turned off that were originally in favor of the program.

We need to make sure that we have reasonable conversations.”

If the program is not renewed, students on scholarship will retain their funding through the 2023-24 school year, however, these scholarships would be in jeopardy moving forward.

In April 2022, House Bill (HB) 4126 passed unanimously, continuing the tradition of strong bipartisan support for education investments seen when the Invest in Kids Act passed originally in 2017.

Jennifer Georgis, Executive Director for the Catholic Education Foundation, said it is upsetting to see politicians changing their vote because the public outcry is too loud.

“So, elected officials are now against scholarships for poor and working-class families because they have been contacted too many times by teachers union leadership that claims to represent the poor, working-class constituents?” Georgis questioned.

Joliet Catholic Academy Director of Institutional Advancement agrees.

“The only opposition to the tax credit scholarship program is from teachers union leadership,” Quigley said. “It’s a sad day when politics comes first over kids’ education. There is no reason why any legislator should oppose this program or even hesitate in supporting it.”

The Invest in Kids Act provides donors a 75 percent Illinois state income tax credit for contributions made to a non-profit Scholarship Granting Organization up to a maximum of $1.3 million.

On a contribution of $10,000, they receive a state tax credit of $7,500.

In 2023, this program will provide more than 800 scholarships for grade schools and high schools in the Diocese of Joliet alone.

Democratic Representitive Harry Benton was the only one of the invited politicans to attend the ‘Save Our Scholarship’ rally at JCA.

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