SPRINGFIELD – Majority Caucus Appropriations Leader Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-Chicago) released the following statement after the Senate passage of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget:

“In keeping with our shared commitment to fiscal responsibility, we have approved a budget that is balanced, responsible and invests in people in all corners of our state.

“As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I set a goal that our budget would serve the best interests of the people of Illinois. By promoting economic growth, supporting education, ensuring public safety and enhancing the overall well-being of our communities, we will build a stronger, more prosperous and more equitable future for all residents of our great state.

“This budget reflects our shared values and our commitment to making Illinois a better place to live, work and raise a family. I am proud to have led a stable budget that addresses our current needs.”

Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

The Fiscal Year 2025 budget builds upon the responsible spending decisions the state has made and balanced budgets we have passed in recent years, bringing forth a budget and other legislation that prioritizes education, public safety, economic development, social service, local governments and more.

Highlights

Fiscal Responsibility – 6^th balanced budget

• This budget builds on five years of historic fiscal progress with balanced budgets, nine credit rating upgrades, the elimination of the bill backlog, and more.
• Alongside the smart spending decisions of the previous fiscal years, the budget continues to pay down our bills, invest more money into retirees through fully funding pensions, and save for the future.

Early Childhood Education

• $14 million to launch the Department of Early Childhood – a new agency to focus on administering early childhood education programs
• An additional $75 million will be sent to the ISBE Early Childhood Block Grant – putting in place 5,000 more slots in preschool deserts
• $36.5 million to support higher participation in the Child Care Assistance Program

K-12 Education

• Continues the commitment of a $350 million increase toward the evidence-based funding model for K-12 education
  • The state will topple $2 billion toward the evidence-based funding model since its inception with this investment
• $10.3 million increase for Career and Technical Education programs
• $3 million for State Literacy Plan Implementation – a roadmap to enhance and unify core literacy instruction efforts statewide
• $45 million for the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program

Higher Education

• $700 million for Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding
  • In Fiscal Year 2025, a projected 146,000 students could benefit from MAP Grants – up from 126,864 in 2019
• $8 million for the Minority Teacher Scholarship Program

Violence Prevention and Public Safety

• Funding to hire and train 200 new state troopers – a total of two new cadet classes
• $200 million to the Restore, Reinvest, Renew (R3) program
• $45 million to build up the Reimagine Public Safety grant program
• $200 million to enhance after-school and summer youth programs

Health and Human Services

• $290 million for HOME Illinois
• $2.4 billion for services for people with developmental disabilities, including a $1 per hour wage increase for Direct Support Professionals
• $155 million for safety net hospitals
• $50 million for a child tax credit for eligible low-income families with EITC