Will County Gazette

State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr. (D-Elwood) is one of several Illinois legislators who have personally benefitted from a private school education who have not shown support for extending the Invest In Kids Tax Credit Scholarship program. 

The program serves nearly 9,400 needy children by providing tax benefits to donors who fund scholarships for children to attend private schools. Walsh, Joliet Catholic Academy, has not shown support for extending the program by voting for the state budget that did not include funding the program. However, Walsh and other area legislators were previously named-dropped by Joliet Catholic Academy for “taking time out of their schedules to meet with the JCA administration and parents.” 

“These scholarships for low-income and working-class families are integral to the future of our local Catholic schools and the communities they serve,” Joliet Catholic Academy said on Facebook. “How can you help? Call your local legislator today and simply tell them you support the Invest in Kids Act and want to eliminate the Sunset Clause; the program will be eliminated next year if no action is taken and there are also proposals to reduce the tax credit percentage for donors. Now is the time to expand educational opportunities for children, not cut them. These scholarships for children and families in need are not corporate tax loopholes!" 

It appears Walsh’s support for his alma mater on the issue was waned.

Joliet Catholic ends 99% of its students on to four-year institutions. The school costs nearly $14,000 per year. It is emphatic in its support of Invest In Kids, of which 20 students are currently benefitting. 

“At Joliet Catholic Academy, we believe, like you do, that ALL kids should have access to their best-fit school, regardless of family income or zip code. The Invest in Kids Act Scholarship Program is the exact policy and program that can expand quality educational options for K-12 students in Will County,” Joliet Catholic Academy’s website reads. The school reported the program has significantly benefited needy students. 

“Currently, 20 students at JCA are receiving Invest in Kids Act scholarships through Empower Illinois, our Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). An additional 125 students are eligible to receive scholarships, totaling over $1.5 million for the 2021-2022 school year. Already this year, over $4 million has been raised for Diocese of Joliet students through the Invest in Kids Act,” Joliet Catholic Academy said on its website.

The school sent out an “urgent” request for parents to contact legislators to protect the program.

Walsh is one of 35 of Illinois' 177 state legislators who attended private high schools. The private high school graduates include 10 Republicans and 25 Democrats, 15 of whom were raised in the City of Chicago.

Missing from the 3,500 pages of the state’s $50.5 billion budget was funding needed for the continuation of the Invest In Kids Tax Credit Scholarship Program. The program allows donors to receive a tax benefit for donating to a state-maintained scholarship program for low-income families for private schools. It serves over 9,000 K-12 students who are the beneficiaries of the Invest in Kids Tax Credit. 

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

Critics highlighted the hypocrisy of lawmakers involved in shutting down the program. Pritzker and other politicians had sent or were sending their own children to expensive private schools while denying the same opportunity to less fortunate students. The Wall Street Journal underscored the power dynamics between teachers' unions, Democratic lawmakers, and the failure of the public education system. The decision to end the scholarship program disregarded the needs of low-income students and prioritized the interests of unions over educational reform. The main reason behind the opposition to the program was the influence of teachers' unions, who wanted to eliminate it because its popularity highlighted the failures of public schools. 

The Invest in Kids program received more than 31,000 applications last year, indicating a high demand for alternatives to underperforming public schools. Many low-income families, particularly Black and Hispanic, supported the scholarship program because their assigned Illinois schools had low proficiency rates in reading and math. The failure of the public education system was evident from the fourth to eighth grades, leading to a high demand for alternatives. However, the unions prioritized their power over student learning and blamed the schools' failures on lack of funding rather than addressing systemic issues. WSJ reports union leaders hold significant influence over Illinois lawmakers, who have received substantial campaign contributions from teachers' unions.