A group of school superintendents are suing Governor Bruce Rauner and the State of Illinois, seeking more than $7-billion for their schools. Last August, Illinois adopted a new school funding formula, which was called an evidence-based model, because it calculated with dozens of metrics to determine how much money each district in Illinois would need to provide children with a good education. The State Board of Education says that the total cost would be $7.2-billion. Lawmakers planned on getting to that number over a period of time, by appropriating around $350-million per year over the next decade. Dan Cox, who is the superintendent of Staunton District 6, says that schools that have been starved for cash for years want the money now. Cox says that they are seeking a judgement of $7.2-billion in the 2020 fiscal year, to reflect the amount that the ISBE has always said they would sent to districts, required by Article X of the constitution. He added that schools cannot wait for the General Assembly at some future date to appropriate the funds to their districts. State Senator Jason Barickman, who is a Republican from Bloomington, has not seen a complaint like this, but it is skeptical. He says that the obvious question is where do they think that the money is going to come from. Barickman says that if they plan to cut $7-billion out of the state government, are they an advocate on behalf of the taxpayers in their districts, since to obtain that money, they would have to raise taxes. The 22 districts are represented by a Chicago attorney. He says that a legal ruling in the matter is the best way to remind lawmakers that school funding has to be a priority in Illinois. The lawsuit was officially filed in St. Clair County on Monday. A state board spokesperson would not comment on the lawsuit, except that it is consistent with the board’s budget request.