Are you a Catholic school parent? Do you care about Catholic schools?
The Illinois Kids Campaign is for you!
The Illinois Kids Campaign is an initiative that seeks to increase funding for both private and public schools, as outlined in this fact sheet. The Catholic Conference of Illinois is working with the education advocacy group One Chance Illinois to get the Illinois Kids Campaign funded in the budget for the 2016 fiscal year. The Illinois Kids Campaign is not embodied in legislation and does not have a bill number — it would be an appropriation in the final budget.
Two provisions of the Illinois Kids Campaign are of significant importance to Catholic school parents and supporters of Catholic schools in Illinois.
These two provisions would:
- Increase the education expenses tax credit for school parents to $1,000 from the current $500.
- Create scholarships so more kids can attend Catholic and other schools.
(The scholarships would be created from corporate and individual donations to organizations that grant scholarships to low- and middle-income students so they can attend Catholic and other schools. To encourage these donations, corporations and individuals would receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit for their donations.)
Read Archbishop Cupich's letter to parishioners regarding the Illinois Kids Campaign.
The Illinois Legislature is in its final weeks of session, so there is still time to act in support of the Illinois Kids Campaign. Click here to find out how to contact your state representative and state senator, and ask them to support the Illlinois Kids Campaign.