In the News

Advance Illinois serves as a resource for media outlets from across the state and beyond on policy issues in education from birth to career. Here’s our recent coverage.

Featured
Advocates Hope This is The Year for a Higher Education Funding Formula
Advocates Hope This is The Year for a Higher Education Funding Formula
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Illinois Schools Could Get More Money Under Governor Pritzker’s Budget Plan
Illinois Schools Could Get More Money Under Governor Pritzker’s Budget Plan

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s state budget proposal for 2026 would make another historic investment into public education, but uncertainty about the future of K-12 education funding still looms.

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Lawsuit Threatens Illinois Minority Teachers Scholarship
Lawsuit Threatens Illinois Minority Teachers Scholarship

Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed continuing funding for a program aimed at getting more minority teachers in classrooms as a conservative legal strategist challenges the programs constitutionality in federal court.

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‘We Can’t Continue with The Status Quo’: A New Way to Fund Illinois Public Universities
‘We Can’t Continue with The Status Quo’: A New Way to Fund Illinois Public Universities

Western Illinois University faculty and staff are learning more about a new bill that has the potential to reshape how public universities in the Land of Lincoln are funded. Senate Bill 13 (SB13) and House Bill 1581 (HB1581) proposes a new funding system, the Adequate and Equitable Funding Formula.

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Four more years: Dissecting Trump’s proposals for education policies
Four more years: Dissecting Trump’s proposals for education policies

The 21st Show’s series, “Four More Years”, featured panelists from Advance Illinois, Illinois Federation of Teachers, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in discussion on what the president-elect’s proposals and ideas for education reform could mean and how they could impact Illinois schools.

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Illinois Scholarship Program Aimed at Getting More Teachers of Color Faces Court Challenge
Illinois Scholarship Program Aimed at Getting More Teachers of Color Faces Court Challenge

Even as advocates say more needs to be done to increase the number of teachers of color in classrooms, the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship program has become the target of a lawsuit claiming it discriminates against white students by limiting awards to Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American students.

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Budget Pressures Could Impact K-12 Funding
Budget Pressures Could Impact K-12 Funding

With budget forecasters predicting flat revenue growth over the next year and continued demands for increased spending in other areas of the budget such as pension costs and health care, members of the Illinois State Board of Education were told December 18 that they are now in a different fiscal environment.

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Blog: Dollars and Degrees: Perspectives From the Field — Spotlight on Illinois
Blog: Dollars and Degrees: Perspectives From the Field — Spotlight on Illinois

To learn more about the Commission’s proposed changes, the legislative climate in Illinois, and the road to implementation, Bellwether spoke with leaders at Advance Illinois and the Partnership for College Completion.

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Illinois Bill Could Substantially Increase NEIU State Funding
Illinois Bill Could Substantially Increase NEIU State Funding

An Illinois State Senate bill would dramatically change the way higher education is funded in the state. The bill, SB 3965, would create the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act which would structure state higher education funding on a formula similar to that used to fund Illinois’ primary K-12 schools.

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Legislation Seeks To Close The Adequacy Gap At State Higher Education Institutions
Legislation Seeks To Close The Adequacy Gap At State Higher Education Institutions

Legislators in Illinois have taken up the cause of getting more state funding for public higher education. Illinois State Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford and Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons recently announced the filing of SB3965, the Adequate and Equitable Funding Formula for Public Universities Act.

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New Report Details Illinois’ Educator Pipeline

Illinois has more teachers in the classroom than it’s had in more than a decade according to a new report from Advance Illinois, a nonpartisan education policy group. School districts across the state, however, still face hiring challenges.

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