June 01, 2013

We did it!


Stand for Children Illinois
say thank you!
pinkgirlsmall
Take a moment and thank your legislator for not cutting the Illinois education budget!
Dear Fred,
The Illinois education budget has been protected!  
Through all your continued action, the work of many organizations, and some very courageous legislators, the majority of the education budget has been spared any cuts.  In fact, the most important line item focusing on leveling the playing field for low-income kids called General State Aid received a $150 million bump in funding.
This is much better than we expected after hearing the dyer projections of hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to the education budget.  Now, we must say thank you to those who voted 'yes' and encourage those who didn't to invest in our kids.
Will you send a quick note right now to your legislators expressing your thanks that they didn't cut the budget? 
http://cl.s4.exct.net/?qs=1754b19c815d57468d10ef3456b1abe7a3d57c8ae9904390562a7a112752b654149d3360a61f123b
While not every legislator voted for this budget, we must make sure that everyone knows this is the best investment we can make for the future of our state.  Strategic investments in our most at-risk kids will pay dividends in the long term.  
Protecting the budget this year is just the start.  We'll be re-grouping over the summer and laying the ground work for next session, which includes participating in Senator Andy Manar's education funding task-force focused on examining education funding with a goal of providing adequate and equitable funding (read more about the taskforce here). We must grow the pot of money we have to allocate towards schools, and we must spend our scarce resources strategically, focused on our most at-risk kids.  
But for the time being, take a moment and let the General Assembly know that you are pleased with this year's education budget. 
Standing with you,
Jessica Handy

Stand for Children Illinois
850 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 330
Chicago, IL 60607