Friday, October 6 - Fight School Vouchers / Learn About Ranked Choice Voting
Action You Can Take Today
Action 1: Ask your state senator and representative to end the Invest in Kids voucher program
Action 2: Learn about ranked choice voting on Tuesday, October 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. at Grace Place in Printers Row (637 S Dearborn)
Action 1: End Invest in Kids Voucher Program
Veto session coming up in a couple of weeks we cannot allow ANY public moneys be spent on largely religious education when our public schools who educate the vast majority of IL children go underfunded. This is a map of voucher schools with an overlay of House and Senate district boundaries. The school locations are color coded by how much voucher money they are getting. (And if you click on a school you get the exact dollar amount, number of voucher students, and House, Senate and US Congressional district.) This is the newest map of voucher schools and public schools, with the latter color-coded by funding adequacy (in particular by Tier rating, see p. 31 for an explanation of what the Tiers are.)
Call or write to your State Senator and Representative this week. Find their contact information here.
Script: "I’m a constituent and a supporter of public schools. I’m calling about the Invest in Kids voucher program which is diverting millions of taxpayer dollars to private, religious schools that are discriminating.
Can I count on {Senator ----------} to oppose ANY extension of this program?
[Possible follow up comments:]
Support for continuing this program means standing in alliance with rightwing groups that oppose LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights and want to dismantle the separation of church and state.
The program is in its 6th year, and there's not just no data to show its effectiveness, but there are no reports from the State Board of Ed on how voucher students are doing.
The {Senator/Rep} needs to make a public statement that she will not support any continuation of the voucher program. It is simply not in the best interest of the children in this district for it to continue."
Action via Illinois Families for Public Schools
Action 2: Learn About Ranked Choice Voting 10/17
Join Indivisible Downtown Chicago to learn more about Ranked Choice Voting from Andrew Szilva, Executive Director of Fair Vote Illinois. We are meeting at Grace Place in Printers Row (637 S Dearborn) on Tuesday, October 17 from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
There will be a short presentation and time for Q&A. Please RSVP using this form so that we know how many to expect.
Help us spread the word by sharing the event on Facebook!
Action via Indivisible Downtown Chicago and Indivisible Chicago-South Side
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.