West Cook News

Andrew Chesney, a State Senator from Illinois, has expressed concerns about the impact of politics on children's education. He emphasized the need for urgent reforms to safeguard future opportunities for children. This statement was made during an appearance on the Prairie State Wire Podcast.

"It's the next generation of leaders that pay the price because they were afforded a bad education," said Andrew S. Chesney, State Senator for Illinois.

In Illinois, since 2023, there has been significant debate surrounding K–12 education. This includes discussions on school-choice proposals and tax-credit scholarships for private schools. Additionally, there have been disputes over parental involvement, particularly regarding proposed regulations that would require notifications for homeschooling. According to Illinois Policy, teachers' unions have strongly opposed renewed efforts for school choice in 2025. They argue that the repeal of a previous program in 2023 was justified and warn that new legislation could limit parental input.

Recent data on student performance in Illinois shows mixed results. Chalkbeat reports that while the four-year high school graduation rate increased to 87.7% in the 2023-24 academic year, only about 31.1% of juniors met reading proficiency standards and 26.1% met math proficiency standards on the SAT—figures that are lower than pre-pandemic levels.

According to Illinois Policy, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for 2024 found that only 30% of fourth-graders in Illinois scored proficiently in reading and 38% in mathematics. For eighth-graders, proficiency rates were at 33% for reading and 32% for math. Despite these scores being above the national average for eighth grade, they still fall short of pre-pandemic benchmarks.

Chesney is a Republican state senator representing Illinois's 45th District since January 2023. Prior to this role, he served in the Illinois House representing the 89th District from 2018 to 2023 and was also a member of the Freeport City Council. His biography from the Illinois General Assembly notes that he is a small business owner from Carroll County who graduated cum laude from Arizona State University. He serves on several Senate committees including Agriculture; Appointments - Public Safety & Infrastructure; Environment & Conservation; Labor; and Public Health.