Report: Illinois lags neighbors in school choice after killing scholarships

By Tom Viz

08/28/2025

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.

TAGS: Invest in Kids, school choice

Illinois’ low social mobility: causes and cures

01/28/2025

Published Jan. 28, 2025 Illinois Policy Institute Center for Poverty Solutions, in partnership with the Archbridge Institute By Joshua Bandoch, Ph.D., head of policy, Illinois Policy Institute and Justin Callais, Ph.D., chief economist, Archbridge Institute EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A low-income person’s ability to move up in society is worse in Illinois than in any other Midwestern...

Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program for low-income students saved taxpayer dollars

By Hannah Schmid

10/23/2024

The Invest in Kids Tax Credit Scholarship program saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars before it was killed by teachers’ unions, according to a new study.

TAGS: Invest in Kids

More states give parents control over education funds, so why not Illinois?

By Hannah Schmid

04/30/2024

There are 18 private school choice programs called “education savings accounts” in 16 states and growing. But Illinois leaders refuse to let parents decide how their taxes are used to educate their children.

TAGS: education spending

Common-ground solutions to empower Chicago’s poor: A model for America’s cities

By Josh Bandoch

01/25/2024

Published Jan. 25, 2024

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

By Adam Schuster

02/04/2019

Gov. J.B. Pritzker inherited a $2.8 billion budget deficit the moment he stepped into office. Next year, that deficit is projected to be $3.4 billion1. It’s the same story every budget season. But Illinois’ budget crises could be a thing of the past if the state would adopt pension reform, right-size its union contracts and...

Education finance solutions

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

02/09/2017

Making Illinois’ system fairer through pension reform, consolidation and accountability to parents and students.

2014 legislative victories

By Matt Paprocki

06/05/2014

The driving goal of the Illinois Policy Institute is to transform liberty principles into marketable policies that become law. The ultimate sign of success is when free market ideas are enacted into laws that change Illinoisans’ lives for the better. Illinois Policy Action’s 2014 legislative agenda emphasized the importance of a financially responsible and limited...

Will Illinois embrace education innovation?

06/12/2013

Illinois legislators have a major decision to make: should the state adopt policies that will enable it to become a future hub of education innovation or should it institute laws that needlessly delay the policies necessary to create a school system that embraces technology? Thus far, Illinois has chosen the latter path. In fact, Gov. Pat...

Capitol Updates: May 6 week in review

By Jane McEnaney

05/11/2013

Both chambers were in session this week in Springfield. Moratorium on virtual schools passes out of committee On Tuesday afternoon, House Bill 494 passed out of the Senate Subcommittee on Charter Schools and was subsequently approved by the full Senate Education Committee. The Illinois Policy Institute’s Executive Vice President Kristina Rasmussen and Director of Education Reform Josh Dwyer attended both...

EdChoice

Report: Illinois lags neighbors in school choice after killing scholarships

Illinois’ low social mobility: causes and cures

Illinois’ tax credit scholarship program for low-income students saved taxpayer dollars

More states give parents control over education funds, so why not Illinois?

Common-ground solutions to empower Chicago’s poor: A model for America’s cities

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

Education finance solutions

2014 legislative victories

Will Illinois embrace education innovation?

Capitol Updates: May 6 week in review

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students