The budget for the state of Illinois includes 350 million dollars in funding for elementary and secondary education programs.
On Wednesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a budget for the 2018 fiscal year that totals $50.4 billion and makes it official. He lauded the budget for being well-balanced and making what he called “transformative investments” in pre-K, primary and secondary education, and higher education.
Pritzker, along with fellow Democrats Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, signed the budget at Christopher House, a nonprofit school that serves students in pre-K through eighth grade. The event highlighted the state’s spending on early childhood development, including an initial investment of $250 million in a new Smart Start program to expand preschool access. Christopher House is located in Chicago.
The education system in the state, from kindergarten through high school, gets 350 million dollars. In comparison, the education system in higher education receives 100 million dollars for scholarships and free tuition to community colleges.
