The Illinois House denied a bill Wednesday that would have allowed up to 30,000 Chicago Public Schools students to use vouchers to leave overcrowded and underperforming public schools to attend private schools.
Only 48 legislators (22 Democrats and 26 Republicans) voted for the bill, which already passed the Illinois Senate, reports the Chicago Tribune.That fell short of the 60 votes need.
The voucher bill met tough opposition from teachers unions.
If it had passed, the bill would have created the largest voucher program in the nation and created competition for CPS.
Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago), who sponsored the bill, managed to keep it alive using a parliamentary procedure, but it won’t make it back to the floor during this Spring, according to the Sun-Times.
