Kane County Reporter

Heather Brown, candidate for Illinois State Senate District 25, expressed her concern over the failure to extend the Invest in Kids scholarship program, emphasizing the impact on children seeking better education through school choice. Brown criticized the decision not to allocate funds for the program, highlighting the lack of burden on taxpayers as the scholarships were entirely donated by individuals.

“School Choice and donors were dropped,” Brown said on Facebook.

“Children all over have been on waiting lists to get into schools to better their education. These expenses were of no burden to the taxpayers, they were all donated by individuals!

“Why would the majority not put our future generations success first?”

According to a Facebook post by Illinois Policy, House Speaker Chris Welch has drawn criticism for his inaction with regards to extending Invest In Kids before the veto session adjourned. The post indicated that Welch was blocking a vote on the matter. Illinois Policy noted how Invest In Kids Act offers scholarships to economically disadvantaged families seeking better education options for their children. However, despite being favored across diverse demographics and political beliefs as Illinois’ only school choice program, it faced opposition from teachers' unions. The organization also mentioned Welch's failure to extend this popular program could pose political risks given that he sends his own children to private school.

In contrast with Brown's advocacy, The Illinois General Assembly concluded its session without allocating funds for the Invest In Kids scholarship program. This decision threatened the educational future of 9,600 underprivileged children.

Teachers' unions showed strong resistance to the scholarship program. Low-income minority students in failing school districts who relied on this program for access to quality education are most affected by this decision.

State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) pushed strongly urging for the extension of this crucial scholarship program emphasizing the necessity of saving scholarships for deserving students. According to Prairie State Wire, Niemerg expressed frustration at the delay and called upon Welch to take action.

Despite support from Niemerg and others though, the House Speaker adjourned the session without calling a bill to extend the program. This made Illinois the only state to withdraw public funding for school choice. Senate President Don Harmon and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both sending their children to private schools, have also faced scrutiny for their stance on the issue.

State Senate District 25, currently represented by State Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago), includes all or parts of Aurora, North Aurora, Batavia, West Chicago, South Elgin, Wayne, and Bartlett.