Pritzker, local lawmakers celebrate successful first year of Smart Start Illinois

ROCHESTER, Ill. (WAND) — Gov. JB Pritzker had an ambitious goal to create space for 5,000 young children to start preschool last year. The Democrat announced Thursday that the state was able to get nearly 6,000 more kids in preschool programs due to the new Smart Start Illinois program.

State lawmakers approved a $75 million boost for the Early Childhood Block Grant to create 5,000 new slots for children from low-income families. However, the state exceeded that goal by 18%.

The Pritzker administration said 59 of the 95 preschool programs are brand new, making a massive impact for communities that never provided these services.

"Between the newly opening programs and existing providers, we have now over 82,000 publicly-funded preschools seats across our state," Pritzker said.

More than 5,300 children were able to participate in half-day preschool programs and 500 additional students are now in full-day preschool.

"If you want to change the trajectory in a positive way of the population of the state, invest in the very youngest children and their families," Pritzker added.

The governor said he is glad to see the State Board of Education is well on its way to eliminating preschool deserts by 2027. The big investment has helped expand access for many families across Central Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker highlighted his Smart Start Illinois program during a press conference at Rochester Elementary School on January 18, 2024.

"We can now offer preschool to at-risk students and those receiving special education services in addition to tuition based students," said Jennifer Shaw, the special education director for Rochester CUSD.

The $50.6 billion budget included $130 million to increase wages for childcare workers and enhance the quality of early childhood programs. It also featured an additional $40 million for early intervention services for families with babies and toddlers.

Local lawmakers said they are constantly thinking of how the state can make early childhood education better.

"All my life, all I've heard is how important it is to put money in preschools instead of prisons," said Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur). "It will prevent people from going to prison. All I ever thought was why don't we ever do this?"

The State Board of Education will release the application for the next round of preschool funding early next year. Pritzker hopes lawmakers will keep the Smart Start program a top priority during budget negotiations.

"When we educate our children, we set off a domino effect," said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. "Education leads to opportunity which leads to prosperity which leads to stability and so on."

The state received applications from 190 providers last year and 84% of the applicants were located in preschool deserts.

"Investing in early childhood education expands opportunities for our youth, setting them up to be life-long learners, giving them the tools to be successful and providing a path to be future leaders," said Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield).