Fischer, Ava

Freshman, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Major: Political Science (Concentration in Law and Theory)

Minors: Environmental Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Journalism

Honors Course: 110: Discover Chicago

Faculty: Michael Edwards, Department of Philosophy

Abstract: There are critical disparities in funding and academic achievement between Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and other Illinois school districts. As funding for education is sourced primarily through local property taxes, redlined inner-city neighborhoods with low property values have disproportionately underfunded schools. This paper analyzes the history of wealth distribution as it was impacted by redlining and discusses the consequences of low school funding on the quality of education. To mitigate the funding and achievement disparities, the state of Illinois must provide additional support for students and faculty from low-income districts and reduce dependency on local property taxes for school funding.