Every year, Illinois spends over $30 billion on public education — and most of it flows through 864 school districts and 39 community colleges that most people never think about until something goes wrong. This report is different. We dug into every public data source available — financial records, board minutes, bond filings, court documents, and state agency databases — and what we found should make every Illinois taxpayer sit up and pay attention.
Illinois has 864 public school districts and 39 community colleges. That's a lot — more than most states. Some of these districts have only a few hundred students. Some have tens of thousands. All of them have elected school boards, administrators earning six-figure salaries, and legal teams billing by the hour. And all of them are spending your money.
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K-12 school districts operate under 105 ILCS 5 (Illinois School Code) and answer to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Community colleges operate under 110 ILCS 805 (Public Community College Act) and answer to the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). This means a completely different governance structure: elected boards of 7 trustees with different term lengths, different levy powers (up to 0.5% of equalized assessed value), different accreditation requirements, and different financial reporting rules. When a dual credit partnership goes wrong, the legal liability can fall on either institution — and navigating that boundary requires knowing which statute applies.
Illinois Public Community College Act — enacted 1965, substantially amended through 2023.
County · Type · Enrollment