NW Illinois News

School administrators within Lee County reportedly handed out 1,156 suspensions solely during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois Report Card.

In total, there were 1,157 disciplinary actions recorded during the school year, of which 1,156 were suspensions representing an average of 0.3 actions per student in the county. There was an additional case of a student being removed to alternative settings rather than being suspended or expelled.

Among the 13 schools in the county, Dixon High School reported the highest number of disciplinary actions at the time, with a total of 394—or 34.1% of all incidents countywide.

The county reported that most in-school suspensions where a reason was specified were given for incidents involving tobacco, with 15 recorded cases. There were also 10 incidents involving violence without physical injury. Additionally, 691 cases were classified under "other reason" or left unspecified.

There were 890 disciplinary incidents involving male students. Another 266 incidents involved female students.

Of all suspensions issued in the Lee County schools, 608 involved elementary or middle school students, while 548 involved high school students.

Out-of-school suspensions most commonly were for incidents involving drugs, with 26 cases reported. Additionally, 377 cases were classified under the "other reason" category.

In terms of ethnicity, white students, who made up 83.1% of the student body in Lee County schools, were suspended the most in the county, with 944 suspensions reported during the 2023-24 school year (81.7% of all disciplinary actions). They were followed by multiracial students, who made up 6% of the student body, and received 87 suspensions (7.5%).

Some schools or districts may not publish complete disciplinary data due to privacy protections or reporting limitations, which could affect the totals.

Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.

In 2024, Illinois registered a teacher retention rate of almost 90%. Yet, around 91% of superintendents reported having a 'serious' problem teacher shortage problem. In total, almost 4,100 teaching positions remained vacant by the end of the year.

“They’re putting a substitute in there, that’s somebody with a four-year degree that’s not in teaching. They’re using a retired teacher…or worse than that, they’re canceling the class, putting the kids in other classrooms, putting them in study hall, but those are strategies we have to use if there’s no qualified teacher,” said Beth Crider, regional superintendent of Peoria County Regional Office of Education #48.

Type of Incident	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
Alcohol	-	2
Violence with injury	-	12
Violence without injury	10	13
Drug offenses	1	26
Firearm	-	-
Other dangerous weapons	-	1
Tobacco	15	8
Other reason	691	377
Total	717	439

Duration	In-School Suspension	Out-of-School Suspension
One day or less	15	28
1-2 days	624	225
2-3 days	67	58
3-4 days	8	86
4-10 days	3	37
More than 10 days	-	5