Will County Gazette

Critics are suggesting the decision to not fund the Invest In Kids tax scholarship program will be seen at the polls.

Tiana MacDonald, a Joliet-based digital designer, said Democrats will see pushback in the electoral process.

“Illinois Democrats have cut the Invest in Kids program, as predicted,” she said in a Thursday Facebook post. “Elections have consequences.”

The Tax Credit Scholarship Program provides donors a tax benefit for donating to a state-maintained scholarship program for private schools for low-income families. The program serves more than 9,000 K-12 students who are the beneficiaries of the Invest in Kids Tax Credit. It costs the state $75 million per year. This year’s state budget is expected to top $50 billion.

“This is not something that’s been covered by the budget agreement,” Pritzker said at a press conference, quoted by the Prairie State Wire. “It’s something that still has time, potentially, but it’s not something that’s in the budget agreement.”

The move has been deemed tone-deaf by some who point to exorbitant spending on noncitizen immigrants.

One point of contention is massive spending related to the free health care for noncitizen immigrants program that alone accounts for nearly $1 billion of the projected $50 billion budget, a Peoria Standard report said. The program is for those 42 years of age and older. Democrats sought to lower that threshold to individuals 19 and older but have not been able to move the legislation.

The Illinois Opportunity Project is encouraging parents and schools to continue reaching out to legislators in support of the Invest in Kids Scholarship Program. The program is the only public school choice system in place in Illinois.

“BREAKING: Unless there is a last-minute change to the budget, the Invest in Kids Scholarship Program comes to close at the end of the year,” the organization said on Facebook Thursday. “Contact your legislators now urging them to save this lifeline for over 9,000 families: https://bit.ly/41se9ss."