Illinois Civic Leaders: Invest in Children & Youth Via New State Budget

As Illinois lawmakers enter the final weeks of their legislative session and budget negotiations, they have no shortage of input from Council for a Strong America about particularly effective ways to bolster communities statewide.

About 200 civic leaders organized under the Council’s bipartisan, nonprofit umbrella have written to top policymakers with research-proven priorities for strengthening Illinois’ workforce and economy, public safety, and contributions to national security by — in turn — boosting kids’ well-being. These communications come from the business executives of ReadyNation, the law enforcement officials of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, and the retired military leaders of Mission: Readiness.

Key priorities include greater FY25 investments in early care and education, building on the multi-year Smart Start plan that Gov. Pritzker launched last spring. That plan reflects the 2021 recommendations of the state’s bipartisan Early Childhood Funding Commission, which studied ways to improve Illinois’ system of birth-to-5 supports to reach more families with higher-quality and more equitable services.

Among other things, civic leaders’ letters express solid support for the Governor’s proposal to consolidate core early childhood programs under a single, new state agency. This idea echoes another Commission suggestion, aimed at ironing-out the complications that parents and service providers face under the current arrangement of navigating services administered by three separate state agencies. The enabling legislation to create this new agency is gaining bipartisan momentum and support in Springfield.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids members personally delivered their letter and its budget requests to each of the legislative leaders during recent meetings at the Capitol. At the beginning of March, Hazel Crest Police Chief Mitchell Davis met with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. Other top policymakers — including Senate President Don Harmon, Senate Minority Leader John Curran, and House Minority Leader Tony McCombie — were visited by an even larger group later that month: Police Chiefs Fred Hayes (from Elwood), Carla Redd (Rockford), and Dan Ryan (Leland Grove); State’s Attorneys Bob Berlin (DuPage County), Eric Weis (Kendall), and Eric Rinehart (Lake); and Sheriffs Jeff Lower (Tazewell County) and Chris Watkins (Peoria).

Meanwhile, Council for a Strong America’s membership organizations released a new Illinois report underscoring the significance of a particular aspect of their birth-to-5 priorities. Social-Emotional Skills: An Early Childhood Fundamental details the research demonstrating how high-quality programs for young children can develop a foundation for the “soft skills” that are critical to helping youth do well in school and in later life — thriving in careers and staying out of trouble.

The report was issued through a Feb. 28 news conference at the Early Learning For All program at St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Peoria. Joining the event were ReadyNation members Chris Setti, CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, and Joshua Gunn, President & CEO of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce; Mission: Readiness member Major General (Ret.) Gary Dylewski, U.S. Air Force; and Fight Crime members Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos, Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria, and Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins.

The news event garnered great news coverage from area radio and TV stations, conveying the importance of early learning investments such as those under consideration in Springfield.

Illinois lawmakers’ spring session is scheduled to end May 24, with finalizing the new state budget representing their biggest assignment. ReadyNation, Mission: Readiness, and Fight Crime: Invest in Kids will continue outreach to policymakers throughout the next few, crucial weeks of these deliberations in order to ensure the best FY25 plan possible for kids, families, and communities throughout the state.