Voters in McHenry, Ogle, Lee, Grundy and many other counties throughout the state will see a question on their March 17 primary election ballots asking if Illinois should opt into a voucher-style federal scholarship program that would give donors a tax credit.

The ballot question is nonbinding, meaning it’s only asking voters to offer their yes-or-no opinion but won’t result in any direct change.

The effort to get the federal scholarship question on the ballot around the state has been led by Illinois Policy, the Illinois Policy Institute’s nonpartisan advocacy arm, Chalkbeat reported.

What is the federal voucher-type program in question?

The federal program is a type of federal school voucher program enacted as part of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. It will kick in next year.

The way it works is people donate to what are called scholarship-granting organizations, and donors get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, up to $1,700 per year.

Funds from the program can be used for certain public, private and homeschool expenses for families making up to 300% of their area’s median household income.

But Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker would have to decide to opt the state into the program in order for Illinois families to get the tax credits.

A spokesperson for Pritzker did not address whether the governor would be swayed by the referendums.

What backers say

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a Democrat, expressed support for opting into the program in a recent Chicago Tribune opinion piece. Mendoza is not seeking reelection but has endorsed Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim to succeed her. Kim is one of four Democrats seeking the party’s nomination in the March 17 primary.

On many of the ballot questions, the tax credit side is omitted, according to Chalkbeat. Illinois Policy did not include the tax credit part in draft ballot language because tax credit questions are more federal, the news outlet reported.

But many details surrounding the program haven’t been worked out yet. Chalkbeat reported: “it’s unclear, for example, whether the money could be used for tutoring provided by public schools or be restricted to outside tutoring groups.”

The Illinois Policy Institute has come out against legislation that would prevent Illinois from opting into the program. The institute said the program would benefit public and private school students, would not take money away from public schools, would provide additional resources to students with disabilities and would keep Illinois students competitive with other states.

McHenry County Board Chair Mike Buehler, a Republican, is a proponent of the measure and encouraged its placement on the McHenry County ballot.

He told a County Board committee in October that because the program offers a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, not a deduction on federal income taxes, it “can save a substantial amount of income taxes due.”

Buehler said the county is limited in its ability to substantially reduce tax burdens for residents but the program offers the opportunity for a “very significant reduction in their overall tax burden.”

Though the measure is nonbinding, Buehler said: “What we’ll be doing here is letting our residents voice their opinion, one way or the other, whether they want to participate in the program as a state. And this will let Springfield know our desire to participate or not to opt into the program.”

What critics say

But those against the program are unconvinced that it won’t take funding away from public schools. Students who leave the public school system can take the money with them, NPR reported.

That report said it’s hard to calculate how much the program will cost but cited the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation’s estimate that the vouchers could result in almost $26 billion in lost federal tax revenue over the next decade.

In McHenry County, the Democratic Party has come out against the initiative. According to the party’s website, the “tax credit of up to $1,700 is much more generous than the tax deduction for donating to any other type of non-profit.”

The party also argues that using a scholarship organization to distribute funds to private schools, many of which are religious, is an attempt by school voucher supporters “to cover up the use of tax dollars for religious purposes.”

“Every tax dollar diverted to private and religious schools is a dollar that can’t be used to increase public school funding,” the Democrats say.

The League of Women Voters of Illinois also urged a “no” vote.

Where will this appear on ballots?

About two dozen of the 102 counties in Illinois will have nonbinding questions on primary ballots about the federal scholarship tax credit. Those counties include McHenry, Grundy, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago, Carroll, JoDaviess, Bond, Moultrie, Cumberland, DeWitt, Shelby, Jasper, Wayne, Williamson, Christian, Randolph, Logan, Madison, McDonough, Edgar, Effingham, Coles, Clark and Clay counties, according to state records.

Orland and Palos townships in Cook County and Shields and Cuba townships in Lake County will also be asking their voters about it.