Three Ways to Take Action. One Fight for Public Education.
Over the next several weeks, we have three important opportunities to stand up and fight for public education in Illinois.
On October 27, join our coalition partners in calling on Governor Pritzker to reject the federal voucher program and keep public dollars in public schools. RSVP for the call-in day.
On November 3, make your voice heard at the ballot box and elect leaders who will stand with educators, public workers and our students.
On November 18, join educators and public workers from across Illinois at the Capitol during veto session to demand that Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly fully fund our schools, colleges and the public services our communities depend on. Sign up for Lobby Day on November 18.
Three opportunities to make our voices heard.
One fight for public education.
Our K-12 schools can't wait
Lawmakers passed the Evidence-Based Funding formula to ensure every student gets what they need to learn. But the General Assembly hasn’t funded it. Today:
Illinois schools are $6.8 billion short of what the formula says students need, and that gap grew by $1.24 billion in a single year.
660 districts serving 1.5 million students are still below 90 percent of adequacy.
At the current pace, full funding is more than a decade away. A child starting kindergarten today could graduate from an underfunded high school.
You see what that means every day. Our schools face overcrowded classrooms; unmet special education needs; too few paraprofessionals, nurses and counselors; and outdated textbooks and technology.
Our colleges and universities are being squeezed
Public universities are owed $1.8 billion after decades of disinvestment. That shortfall shows up as program cuts, crumbling buildings and layoffs of faculty and staff, and it hurts the students and the communities that depend on these institutions.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Keep federal vouchers out of Illinois
A new federal voucher scheme would take public tax dollars and send them to private school tuition. Governor Pritzker has until January 1 to decide whether Illinois takes part, and he could announce his decision any day. He needs to hear from us now: keep federal vouchers out of Illinois and invest in the public schools that serve every child.
Join Illinois Families for Public Schools' call-in day tomorrow, Tuesday, October 27, at 9 a.m., or call the Governor's office any day: 217-782-6830 or 312-814-2121. TAKE ACTION: RSVP for the call-in day.
Working people deserve security
We'll also push lawmakers to make health care affordable and to guarantee retirement security for every public worker by fixing Tier 2 pensions.
Lawmakers have the money
Illinois has received more than $1 billion in unplanned revenue in just the first four months of this year. Lawmakers have a $768 million windfall from the META settlement. And the General Assembly left more than $4 billion in revenue proposals on the table this spring. The question isn't whether lawmakers can invest in our students and communities. It's whether they will choose people over profits and ask the wealthiest Illinoisans and corporations to pay their fair share.
It starts at the ballot box
We don't get to sit out politics when politics decides what happens in our classrooms. Budgets are choices, and so are the people who make them. On November 3, we decide who sits in the General Assembly when lawmakers write next year's budget this spring. IFT's endorsed candidates have stood with educators, public workers and our students. Vote early, bring your colleagues and make sure every member of your local has a plan. Then come with us to the Capitol and make sure every lawmaker knows we're watching. See IFT's endorsed candidates and make your plan to vote.
What to expect on November 18
Open to every IFT local, from pre-K through higher education and public service.
Drop-off and pick-up at the Capitol Visitors Center, with the Pasfield House as our home base. Coffee, donuts, boxed lunches and swag at registration.
No speeches or formal morning program. You'll spend the day meeting with lawmakers one-on-one.
An 11 a.m. press conference in the Capitol's Blue Room with IFT officers and members.
A film crew at the Pasfield House recording short member interviews. If you have a story to tell, we want to hear it.
Can't make November 18? Join us for our second Lobby Day on Wednesday, December 2, the day before veto session ends. Sign up for December 2.
Need time off to attend? Talk with your local leadership. Many locals are asking their school boards and administrators to provide release time so members can lobby for the funding our districts are owed.
We have three jobs in the next month. On October 27, we tell Governor Pritzker to keep federal vouchers out of Illinois. On November 3, we elect champions for public education. On November 18, we hold every lawmaker accountable, whether they're coming back in January or heading out the door. When educators and public workers show up at the ballot box and in the Capitol, lawmakers listen. When we show up in numbers, they act. Let's make sure they see and feel IFT.
