06/23/2026
WI Democrats love to point to Illinois as a leader in public school funding. They fail to mention how 30 years of Democrat fiscal mismanagement of its pension system has left its kids to pay the price.
Stanford research shows pension contributions now eat up over 20% of Illinois school budgets. Meaning, one in five education dollars goes to retiree benefits before a single lesson is even taught.
Here in Wisconsin, Republican leadership has maintained a fully funded Wisconsin Retirement System, so your tax dollars reach the classrooms.
If WI Democrats get their way, they will turn Wisconsin into Illinois, and our kids will suffer.
Around one-third of the real increase in annual resources for U.S. public schools since 2015 is getting consumed by pension contributions. In states like New Jersey and Illinois, it's over 100%.