An Illinois House panel Wednesday signed off on a budget for the state's public school system.
The $13 billion dollar appropriation is almost a billion more than this year's budget, reversing the state's trend of cutting funding for K -12 education.
But Republicans say while the bigger education budget is nice, they can't support it since it's predicated on keeping the state's income tax rate where it is, instead of letting it expire as scheduled.
Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) says his party was excluded from budgeting for schools.
"So, effectively, I think, that a vote for this budget is a vote for the extension of the tax increase and that's respectfully why I'm going to vote no today," he said.
The full House is expected to vote on the education budget Thursday.
