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 Illinois’ holiday scratch-off tickets are often peddled as providing good-will
funding for public schools, but a closer examination of state policy shows how
lawmakers divert lottery money before it reaches the classroom.
When lawmakers first debated the Illinois Lottery in 1973, one key tenant of the
proposal was all proceeds would go to help fund education. They promised “the
state share [0f lottery revenues] would be used entirely for public schools,”
according to The Associated Press.
But the politicians didn’t stand by their promise. Instead, the first 10 years
of lottery profits went to the state general revenue fund, paying for much more
than just schools.
It wasn’t until 1985 that then-Gov. Jim Thompson signed a law rededicating the
lottery revenues to the Common School Fund, the primary source of education
funding in Illinois.
Since Thompson, lawmakers have boasted how the lottery “funds education,” and
they’re technically right. In Illinois, 25% of lottery proceeds “goes to fund
public education, infrastructure projects and other good causes.”
But Christopher Mooney, a political science professor at the University of
Illinois Chicago, said the education dollars are really just part of a larger
“shell game.”
“If the lottery provides $10 to the school fund, state officials have two
choices: they can either spend that much more money on schools, or they can
lower the contribution from the general fund by $10,” Mooney said. “Illinois
officials have taken the second approach.”
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In short, higher lottery profits don’t increase net education funding; they
simply free up more general revenue for lawmakers to spend on other projects.
During the Great Recession, then-Gov. Pat Quinn went a step farther by capping
how much lottery money could go into the Common School Fund. He diverted money
to pay for a $31 billion capital bill.
During the past 12 years, the lottery has in turn contributed the same level of
money adjusted for inflation as 2009. Any additional funding was siphoned off to
pay for expenses, such as pensions.
The lottery website reported $834 million went to fund public education,
infrastructure projects and other good causes in 2022.
Illinois nation-leading pension debt is responsible for driving residents’
property taxes to the second highest in the U.S. and steering valuable lottery
dollars away from students.
Common School Funds are used to pay for education and contributions to the
Teachers’ Retirement System, which held an estimated $80 billion in debt at the
end of fiscal year 2022. The system’s annual contribution alone cost $5.87
billion in 2022.
Lawmakers have gambled with Illinois’ education dollars before and lost.
Constitutional pension reform would promise to free up more funding for schools
without the risk.
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