SPRINGFIELD — A judge issued a ruling this month that reads as a scathing indictment of the way his state funds and oversees public education. Education funding lawsuits may show what’s ahead ...

Kwame Raoul leads a lawsuit against the Trump administration for withholding AmeriCorps funds, defying a court order, affecting service programs nationwide.

Justice Department officials interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, in Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday. Senators used a similar approach in the past to overcome a stalemate on judicial nominations.

The school district has joined a lawsuit suing the state of Illinois for failing to adequately fund public education. Photo by Robert Cohen, [email protected] Robert Cohen

The lawsuit is consistent with the position of the Illinois State Board of Education, which has said $7.2 billion more would be needed to meet the goal of 100 percent funding to adequate levels.

Chicago Public Schools, which have about 380,000 students, received about 15% of the state’s $10.6 billion in education funding, despite enrolling nearly 20% of Illinois' public students in 2016.