After-school programs continue push for state aid
[April 30, 2025]
By Peter Hancock
SPRINGFIELD – Advocates for after-school programs that provide tutoring,
recreation and other services made their case again Tuesday for a $50
million state appropriation to restore programs in some schools where
funding has run out and to expand them into more schools.
“There are decades of research that supports that after-school programs
improve school day performance, grades and attendance, helps reduce
violence, and also supports working class families,” Rep. Aaron Ortiz,
D-Chicago, told a House budget committee Tuesday.
Ortiz is the lead sponsor of House Bill 3082, which calls for $50
million to be distributed by the Illinois State Board of Education
through a competitive grant program to entities that seek to provide
tutoring and other enrichment services in high-poverty schools, where
40% or more of the students come from low-income households.
That’s the same amount of money advocates asked for, and lawmakers
provided, in the current fiscal year’s budget. But 10 months into the
fiscal year, those advocates say that money still has not been
distributed.
“What we’ve been hearing is that the governor’s office has been waiting
for legislative intent,” Susan Stanton, executive director of the
advocacy group ACT Now, told the committee. “We’ve kind of heard things
back and forth from both the governor’s office and ISBE and legislators.
And we’ve yet to get a clear answer on why the money wasn’t released.”
The after-school programs have traditionally received federal funding
through the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Program, which distributes money for programs in high-poverty areas
throughout the country.
Stanton, whose organization represents more than 2,000 after-school
programs, said that Illinois typically receives about $56 million a year
through that program. But in 2023, she said, ISBE over-allocated the
funds it had available. As a result, it was unable to renew some of the
grants that were expiring or open a new competitive grant cycle that
year, resulting in a large number of after-school programs losing their
funding and going out of business.
“The large-scale rolling-off of the 21st Century Community Learning
Centers grants has led to 27,000 students losing programs and 2,000
staff members losing their jobs,” Stanton said. “Funding appropriated by
this committee and the General Assembly would provide a lifeline to
these students and bring back stability to the communities that need it
most in Illinois.”
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Susan Stanton, right, executive director of ACT Now, which advocates
for after-school programs, testifies before a House committee in
favor of a bill to earmark $50 million in the upcoming state budget
to help fund those programs. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter
Hancock)
She said even with full federal funding, there is more need for
after-school programs in Illinois than those funds would cover, and the
additional state funds would make after-school programming more
accessible throughout the state.
Stanton said during an interview after Tuesday’s committee hearing that
she remains hopeful the $50 million included in the current budget will
eventually be distributed. In the meantime, she said, her organization
is pushing for funding in next year’s budget.
The governor’s office has said previously that the money was included in
this year’s appropriations bill without any clear instructions about how
to distribute it and that the administration has been consulting with
legislative leaders about what their specific intent was for the money.
“We understand the urgency surrounding after-school programming and
remain committed to ensuring that these resources are allocated in a way
that best serves students and families across Illinois,” Pritzker’s
press secretary Alex Gough said in an email statement Tuesday. “Per the
last budget agreement, we are awaiting direction from the General
Assembly as to where this funding will be distributed.”
Tuesday’s hearing was a “subject matter” discussion only, meaning the
committee took no formal action on the bill. A final decision about
whether the state will again allocate money for after-school programs
will be made when lawmakers pass the final omnibus appropriations bill
at the end of May.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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