Illinois ranked No. 1 for spending per student on higher education in 2024, paying more than double the national average. Declining enrollment, poorly structured finances, growing pension payments and bloated administration have driven up costs.
Chicago Public Schools board members passed a $10.2 billion budget that could have been worse. They got in this mess because expenditures have ballooned $2.4 billion since 2020, largely because 7,927 workers were added.
Illinois is among the few states to offer no private school choice scholarships after killing its Invest in Kids tax-credit program in 2023. The new federal Educational Choice for Children Act would again give Illinois families access to educational options.
A new federal law could give Illinois parents funds to help cover the costs of homeschooling, but only if the state agrees to allow it.
Illinois students are struggling to meet proficiency standards on state assessments. Instead of working to improve student learning, the state is lowering standards to hide the crisis.
The Chicago Public Schools board is set to vote on the district’s 2025-2026 budget on Aug. 28. It must close a $734 million budget hole, but the district’s finances are a mess.
Students returned to their Chicago public schools on Aug. 18. The most recent test data available for Chicago students shows there’s a lot of room for improvement in the new school year.
Chicago Public Schools has 275 buildings that are too empty. On average, over 1-in-3 school desks is empty. The Chicago Teachers Union unrelentingly forces that big waste on CPS as administrators scramble to close a $734 million budget shortfall.
Students in Illinois are steadily returning to class across Illinois’ 866 school districts and 3,835 schools. The state’s public schools have a lot of room for improvement to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.
The national Educational Choice for Children Act creates a federal tax-credit scholarship program for both public and private school students to help boost them academically. Here are seven reasons why Illinois should opt into the program.
With most property taxes going to local public schools, Illinois parents and taxpayers should know how well third- through eighth-grade students read and perform math at local public school districts compared to the cost per student.
The North Carolina state legislature became the first in the U.S. to approve a bill joining the Educational Choice for Children Act. Illinois owes the same to its children after taking away private-school choice from over 15,000 low-income students.
About 2-in-5 Illinois elementary students can read at grade level, so there is a lot of room for improvement. Five new bills would improve student outcomes and parental involvement.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s refusal to close near-empty schools and push for more “sustainable community schools” is hurting student achievement. CTU is about adding members and escaping accountability, not about what’s best for Chicago students.