[The following is a paid advertisement.]

We’ve been listening carefully to the governor, legislative leaders, and many members of the legislature about how to make the Tax Credit Scholarship better – and we now have an amended program proposal that does exactly that. Thousands of vulnerable kids are counting on us to put them before politics.

In response to direct feedback, our bill offers substantive improvements along with good-faith compromises which justify extending the Tax Credit Scholarship Program:

1. Add a new priority level of scholarship recipients from the most under-served areas of Illinois to create opportunities for thousands of primarily Black and Latino children. Donors will be incentivized to prioritize helping this new “Region 7” beyond the thousands of other kids who qualify based on financial need.

2. Reduce the overall size of the program to $50MM (down from $75MM) and reduce the individual giving cap to $500,000 (down from $1MM).

3. Reduce the tax credit for donors to 55% (down from 75%).

4. Encourage more middle-income donors by crediting donations of up to $5,000 with a 100% tax credit.

Illinois, let’s do the right thing. It’s about the kids, not the politics. Save the scholarships.