By Manny Gonzales

Spring is here and Illinois remains in a budgetary limbo. Human service organizations and non-profits that help Illinois’ most vulnerable communities continue to feel the pain of nearly two years of no full-year budget. Some organizations have been forced to cut staff and a few have shuttered completely. Unfortunately, without community based programs, working families will not be able to access high quality child care to support them.

Cornell Brisco is a Chicagoland father whose three-year old daughter, Naomi Ivory, is excelling in bilingual courses at Carole Robertson Center for Learning in Southwest Chicago. He has seen the costs of some... Continue Reading

Governor Rauner issued his third state budget address yesterday afternoon.  During the speech, he outlined his Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) funding priorities with an emphasis on state funding for Pre-K – 12 education.  While he signaled his position on various elements of the Illinois Senate’s ‘grand bargain’ package of bills, the bottom line remains the same there – there will be no progress on adopting a budget until the Legislature passes some combination of non-budget, structural reforms.

Governor Rauner and the Legislature have yet to agree to a fully funded, year-long operating budget since he took the oath of office in January 2015. According to a survey conducted last year by the United Way of Illinois, more than 1 million residents... Continue Reading

Latinos on the Move

Dear Friends,

Here are the latest updates from the Forum’s education team.

by Communications intern Michelle Jimenez

Latinos hold the power to change the outcome of political elections. Earlier this year, the Huffington Post reported a total of “8.6 million Latinos…eligible to vote,” couldn’t vote because they were not registered. This number intensifies when one considers the fact that, “there are almost as many potential Latino voters (11.1 million) as actual voters (12.2 million)” in the U.S.  In Illinois, the 2010 gubernatorial election was decided by just 19,000 votes. That’s not many—especially when you think about how 361,000 eligible Latinos never registered. 

Knowing this, the Forum is taking action to change the narrative on Latino civic engagement by working with its nonprofit partners and volunteers to register new... Continue Reading

Illinois’ list of gubernatorial hopefuls continues to grow as the campaign season for the March 18, 2014 primary gains steam.  While midterm elections tend to attract fewer voters (and primaries have even lower levels of participation) these midterm primaries have high stakes for Illinois residents as the state’s unemployment rate remains higher than the national average, its pension crisis remains unresolved, and  Illinois’ investment in our children’s public education has diminished by $670 million since Fiscal Year 2009.

At this stage in the primary, gubernatorial challengers Senator Bill Brady, Bill Daley, Senator Kirk Dillard, Bruce Rauner, and Treasurer Dan Rutherford have been focused on initiating effective campaign... Continue Reading

While the spring legislative session closed on May 31 with frustrating indecision on several critical issues—pension reform, same-sex marriage, state-run health insurance, and a gambling expansion among them—the Latino Policy Forum and other advocates are heartened by the passage of a FY14 state budget that protects funding for education and vital human services.
 
Education
Thanks to the leadership of the appropriation chairs who oversee the education budget in the Senate and House, lawmakers approved an elementary and secondary education budget that increased the state’s investment in our children by 2 percent.  On the surface, the news is very positive: the total appropriation allows the state to maintain funding for significant items in the education budget. However,... Continue Reading

The line for the early train toSpringfieldwas decidedly Latino on May 7, Latino Unity Day at the state capitol. With 2013 marking its second year, Latino Unity Day is a relatively new but vital opportunity for leaders from Latino-led, Latino-serving organizations, as well as the community at large, to send a collective, coordinated message to legislators:  The state’s investment in Latinos must keep pace with the community’s growth—and its economic, cultural, and civic contributions.

The coordinated events planned for the day would be a clear demonstration of collaboration between co-conveners, including: Hispanic Illinois State Law Enforcement Association,Illinois Association of Hispanic State Employees, Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education (ILACHE), Illinois Latino Family Commission, Latino Policy Forum,... Continue Reading