by Collin Hitt Last Monday, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget sent a letter to Illinois school districts urging them to frantically spend newly available federal stimulus funds totaling more than $400 million, before the end of November. Highly unusual, however, was that the letter and the governor’s instructions were apparently written and circulated...

Throughout Illinois, a unique kind of public school is emerging: charter schools. Begun by non-profit groups, teams of teachers, or even universities, these new schools are trying innovative approaches to public education. Most importantly, they are creating additional choices for families, often in communities where public education has failed to meet the needs of parents...

SB2494 has been endorsed by newspapers across the state. Learn the facts about SB2494 below Does your legislator support SB2494?  Find out more here. Senate Bill 2494 creates a pilot program to give parents in Chicago’s lowest-performing and most severely overcrowded schools educational options.  Each family enrolled in one of these schools will be offered a school...

Senate Bill 2494 creates a pilot program to give parents in Chicago

Tens of thousands of Chicago families are trapped in failing public schools. A new school voucher program has been proposed by the Reverend Senator James Meeks. Its goal is to give parents of students enrolled in the worst performing public schools the choice to send their children to private schools. Similar programs in other states...

The Problem What would you do if your children could be on a championship-level team…but they weren’t allowed to try out? Every day, kids from many of Illinois’s roughest communities prove they can compete in the classroom. All they need is the opportunity—an opportunity often provided by charter schools. Tragically, thousands of children are not...