Beginning in July 1986, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Lyle Spencer Foundation jointly funded a five-year investigation into educational finance in the State of Illinois. This series of investigations was conducted on the campuses of Illinois State University and at the University of Illinois at Urbana. The Director of the project were Distinguished Professor George Alan Karnes Wallis Hickrod at Illinois State University and the Co-director is Associate Professor James Gordon Ward at the University of Illinois. Dr. Hickrod passed away December 27, 2006. Linked is a 1990 Interview with Dr. Hickrod for Illinois Issues related to his research contributions in school finance.
The MacArthur-Spencer Special Series in Illinois Educational Finance is focused upon three central concepts in the study of educational finance: equity, adequacy, and efficiency. These concepts are explored by traditional philosophical and historical inquiry and by operational definitions, complete with empirical and statistical inquiry. The website is intended purely for archival purposes, no attempt has been made to edit the various studies into some consistent narrative.
