Will County Gazette

After the state budget deadline went by without a budget being produced, the Catholic Education Foundation Diocese of Joliet noted the future of the Invest in Kids Act is unknown. 

The Catholic Education Foundation is a nonprofit supporting families throughout the Diocese of Joliet by raising resources to allow children in need to attend elementary and secondary Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Joliet. Their scholarships are awarded annually to families with students entering grades K-12 

“The Illinois General Assembly delayed passing the state budget by one week,” the Catholic Education Foundation Diocese of Joliet said on Facebook. “As a result, we still do not know the fate of the tax credit scholarship program. The General Assembly will be meeting this week from Wednesday through Friday, and we need to continue our advocacy push. This is it!” 

In question is the future of the Invest in Kids Act. The Tax Credit Scholarship Program allows for donors to receive a tax benefit for donating to a state-maintained scholarship program for private schools for low-income families. The fund, which provides backing for around 9,000 children to attend private schools, is set to sunset on Dec. 31 if not extended by the General Assembly. 

Republican lawmakers had signed a letter urging the continuation of the program.

“We the undersigned members of the Illinois General Assembly are expressing our support of the extension of the ‘Invest in Kids’ Scholarship Fund,” the Republican General Assembly signatories wrote. “This is a shared priority of both caucuses which benefits the education of underprivileged children. We look forward to the sunset of this program being extended.”

The budget was scheduled to be passed by Friday, May 19, at midnight. The General Assembly has until May 31 to pass a budget prior to the upcoming fiscal year that ends June 30. Democrats sent notice to legislators on Friday that the session was being extended regarding the $50 billion budget negotiations. Legislators will next be in session May 24-26 when a final budget is expected.

Revenue has dropped significantly for the state, which saw a loss of $1.8 million since last year. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability reported the state’s income tax saw a significant decrease in 2022 accounting for the plummeting state revenues. 

"Things are still going OK. It’s just that the performance in fiscal year '22 was so sensational or exceptional, that it was just difficult for us to have that same result in fiscal ‘23," Eric Noggle, revenue manager for the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, told Fox News.

One point of contention is spending over a Medicaid for migrants program. The program takes up nearly $1 billion of the projected budget of $50 billion, according to Peoria Standard. The program is for those aged 42 and older. Democratic lawmakers sought to lower that bar to those 19 years old and older in the session but failed.