This study focuses on the political processes involved in the preparation and passage in 1973 of a school finance reform package in Illinois. The author places particular emphasis on how language was used to promote support for the legislation, how partisan politics affected voting patterns in the legislature on this issue, and how legislators depended on the advice of experts among their colleagues in making their decisions. The study reviews the literature relevant to the use of language in policy-setting and to the nature of political structures and processes in Illinois. A historical account of the development of the legislation is presented and the types of pressures placed on the legislators are discussed. The results of the study imply that educational finance reform is a political issue and can be treated pragmatically as such, and that different types of language (including hortatory, legal, administrative, and bargaining, each with different degrees of specificity) are appropriate at different points in the political process. (Author/PGD)