Thursday, January 5 - Invest in Public Schools / Abolish Life Without Parole for People 20 and Younger
Action You Can Take Today
Action 1: Call and/or email our state senator and representative between Thursday and Saturday this week to let them know Invest in Kids must not be expanded or extended.
Action 2: Tell your legislators to abolish life without parole for people 20 and younger
Action 1: Tell Legislators to Invest in Public Schools
The General Assembly’s “lame duck” session started Wednesday and there is a good chance that pro-privatization forces will make a push to extend Invest in Kids, the “back door” voucher program that funnels up to $75 million a year of taxpayer money to private and religious schools while giving hefty tax breaks to wealthy donors.
We know that pro-privatization forces (Moms for Liberty, Illinois Policy Institute, American Federation for Children, Awake Illinois as well as some religious institutions) are exerting tremendous pressure in Springfield to make Invest in Kids permanent. OUR LEGISLATORS NEED TO HEAR FROM US NOW!
Call and/or email our state senator and representative between Thursday and Saturday this week to let them know Invest in Kids must not be expanded or extended. You can find contact info for your legislators here.
Sample script: “I’m a constituent. The Invest in Kids voucher program must sunset permanently. Can I count on you to oppose any extension or expansion of this program? Public funds should be for public schools, and Illinois’ public schools aren’t even close to fully funded. ”Invest in Kids is bad public policy for so many reasons.”
When you contact your legislators, pick a few talking points from this list:·
Separation of church and state--95% of the vouchers go to religious schools
Public schools are under-funded and need the $75 million of taxpayer dollars that the voucher program diverts to private, religious schools
Schools receiving vouchers don’t have to comply with the full Illinois School Code.
No legal requirements to serve disabled students
Many of these religious schools discriminate against LGBTQ youth
Need more information? Illinois Families for Public Schools recently gave an excellent presentation on this issue at our Network 49 forum. A recording of the presentation is available here and you can access the slides here. And a short FAQ on Invest in Kids is here.
Action via Illinois Families for Public Schools
Action 2: Abolish Life Without Parole for People 20 and Younger
Restore Justice needs your help today to abolish life without parole sentences for people 20 and younger. House Bill 1064 would ensure most children and young adults are eligible for parole consideration; this bill previously passed in the House and is now pending in the Senate. Restore Justice is advocating for the Senate to pass HB 1064 before the end of the Illinois General Assembly’s lame duck session on January 10.
HB 1064 would build on 2019’s Youthful Parole Law, which created the first new parole opportunities in Illinois since our state abolished the parole system in 1978. Because of the Youthful Parole Law, many people sentenced before the age of 21 can now request a parole hearing. HB 1064 would ensure most young people have this opportunity.
Your state senator needs to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to ask your senator to vote yes.
Action via Restore Justice
While some of these Daily Actions come from our own work as Indivisible Chicago Alliance, others are from our many partners working to advance the progressive agenda. We invite you to join us in supporting their work. Postings from partners do not imply Indivisible Chicago Alliance endorsement of specific policies and positions.