Advance Illinois Statement Regarding the FY23 State Budget

Contact:
Advance Illinois Communications
communications@advanceillinois.org

CHICAGO, IL (April 9, 2022) - The Illinois General Assembly has passed a budget that invests critical funds in crucial parts of our education continuum.

There are many things to celebrate in this budget, especially when it comes to our state’s education system. Increased funding for the state’s higher education system is way overdue, and we are elated the budget includes a historic increase of $122 million to MAP grants, the state’s flagship scholarship program for college students. This increase should allow the state to grant aid to virtually every eligible student who applies while increasing average individual awards. This investment provides desperately needed support, especially for students from low-income households and students of color for whom the pandemic has seriously jeopardized postsecondary affordability and success.  

Additionally, we are encouraged to see an investment of $4.2 million for the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship. This investment will help address our state’s teacher shortage and support more teaching candidates of color, including Black male and bilingual aspiring teachers. 

We are also pleased to see the continued investment of an additional $350 million for Evidence-Based Funding (EBF). The formula is working to close funding equity gaps across our state, and this investment will help ensure we continue to make progress at a time when student need has never been greater.  

Finally, it is good news that the state is increasing its investment in the Early Childhood Block Grant ($54.4 million) as well as in Early Intervention (EI) ($7 million) and home visiting (roughly $1 million) programs. That said, given the historic challenges our early childhood and care system has endured, we believe there is more work to be done and encourage greater investments going forward. 

Bottom line, Governor Pritzker has proposed and the General Assembly has passed a budget that prioritizes students. Given the events of the day and challenges our young people face, this is both the right and necessary thing to do. Again, we applaud our elected officials and look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to continue to close equity gaps.

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About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a healthy public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more, visit advanceillinois.org.