Gov. J.B. Pritzker | Facebook / Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Gov. J.B. Pritzker | Facebook / Gov. J.B. Pritzker
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has earmarked additional funding for education and child care as part of his $49.6 billion budget proposal.
According to WBEZ Chicago, Pritzker delivered his approximately hour-long State of the State Address to a joint session of the Democratic-led State Legislature on Feb. 15.
“Our budgets are built on a solid foundation of normalized state revenue and more efficient management of state resources,” Pritzker said in the article.
The governor’s proposal keeps state spending relatively consistent with a 1% decline in overall expenditures, according to WBEZ. Even though future growth is expected in state income and sales taxes, the article said, overall revenues are forecast to drop by as much as 3% over the new fiscal year.
As part of his spending plan, Pritzker earmarked increased funding for early childhood education and child care, according to the news report, which also said his plan allots $250 million toward higher pay for child-care workers and the addition of thousands of preschool slots.
In addition, WBEZ said, the governor intends to aid students in pursuit of higher education and, in the case of community colleges, this assistance will be extensive.
The new spending on public schools would be boosted by $571 million as part of the plan, which allocates $219 million for state universities and $100 million to increase funding for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), according to the article. The Pritzker Administration plan, according to the news story, will allow “nearly all community college students to have their tuition fees covered through MAP and Pell grants."
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