Gov. JB Pritzker calls for expanding pre-K access in State of the State address

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) — Governor JB Pritzker delivered his State of the State budget address in Springfield Wednesday, which called for access to pre-school for all three- and four-year-olds.

Governor Pritzker called his program Smart Start Pre-K will increase funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant program by $75 million.

“Smart Start Pre-K will provide new center-based and school-based classrooms, improve quality across the board, attract new professionals to the field, and ensure we reach our most vulnerable,” Pritzker said. “In the first year alone, 5,000 more seats will be available for children across the state.”

Pritzker also said that the state’s short-term and medium-term liabilities have been eliminated and called for an additional $200 million to the pension stabilization fund.

The budget presented by Pritzker will cover the 2024 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The budget also includes $100 million to build facilities to house the expanded programs. There’s $70 million to expand participation in childcare for parents who need to work or attend school by increasing the income threshold, and $20 million to revamp the provider-payment system.

Critically important is $130 million for what Pritzker says would be a first-in-the-nation “Childcare Workforce Compensation Contract” to lure providers to an understaffed field, give it stability and increase providers’ pay over four years to as much as $19 an hour.

About 10 states offer universal preschool, including Wisconsin. Colorado is gearing up to offer it this fall and Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week proposed $300 million for schooling, hiring teachers and transporting 5,600 4-year-olds.

Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza said education is an area where additional spending is called for, but she would like to see better funding of needs-based college grants.

Republican Senate Minority Leader John Curran, of Downers Grove, also warned of a coming fiscal cliff and the need for budget restraint, but called on Pritzker to expand help for working families – including in early childhood learning and childcare.

He also bemoaned the underfunding of programs for the developmentally disabled. Despite a huge increase in 2021, it was still hundreds of millions of dollars short of what a federal judge ordered.

“We can afford to do this,” Pritzker said “And as every provider, teacher and parent in this state will tell you, we can’t afford to wait.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.