By Eric Stock

SPRINGFIELD – A commission that has created a framework to change Illinois’ school funding formula has produced its final report.

State Sen. Jason Barickman told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Patti Penn it’s now up to lawmakers to make sure the work of the group’s 25 members doesn’t end up on a shelf.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Patti’s interview with Barickman on WJBC.

“I think we’ve (made) great progress on this,” Barickman said. “I hope to be able to work with my colleagues across the aisle on this and advance the ball on this immediately.”

The Bloomington Republican served on the School Funding Reform Commission, which held a series of meetings over six months. He said the formula would help many downstate schools, especially those with higher percentages of students in poverty.

“This formula is designed to make sure that new money gets to our poorest districts and those that need the money the most,” Barickman said. “A lot of those districts are downstate or are in rural communities.”

The funding model would cost up to $6 billion more per year, but the panel doesn’t address how that would be financed.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].