What do you do when thousands of economically disadvantaged children are fortunate enough to get private school scholarships only to fear their good fortune will run out after a year or two? If you’re Representative Curtis J. Tarver II, you introduce a bill that addresses the problem, and partner with colleagues and advocates to pass the legislation into law. After a long journey that began back in August of last year and culminated today with a unanimous vote by the Illinois House of Representatives to pass House Bill 4126 , Rep. Tarver’s bill is finally headed to the Governor’s desk for signing.
The vote by the House followed a Friday vote in the Illinois Senate at high noon, when the upper chamber voted unanimously (55-0) to pass an amended version of the bill, which improves a program that has been a lifeline to so many. Launched in 2018, the Invest in Kids scholarship program has been transformative for tens of thousands of Illinois’ students and specifically Chicago’s Orthodox Jewish community. The tax credit-funded program has awarded over 30,000 scholarships to students in need since its inception, enabling families to choose the school that best serves their children’s needs. While the program has been incredibly successful, demand continues to outpace supply, with over 170,000 applications since the program’s inception. House Bill 4126 makes this great program even better. The bill provides stability to students already receiving the scholarship by placing them first in line for awards, so long as they remain eligible. This change helps ensure continuity for students and allows families to make critical and time-sensitive decisions. Another welcome change this bill provides is the ability for schools, together with scholarship organizations, to adjust the maximum scholarship amount, allowing a more efficient use of funds and enable more students to be awarded scholarships.
After months of intense advocacy by the Agudah and its coalition partners, on March 2, the Illinois House of Representatives passed the bill unanimously, 114-0, in a display of the bipartisan support for helping children. After some concerns were raised in the Senate, the bill was amended for clarification and passed committee on Wednesday, March 30. After passing the Senate unanimously on Friday, the bill was sent back to the House to concur with the amended language.
Agudath Israel of Illinois thanks the bill’s chief sponsor, Representative Curtis J. Tarver II (D – Chicago) for introducing the bill and for his relentless advocacy; co-sponsors Assistant Majority Leader Elizabeth Hernandez (D – Cicero) and Representative Michael J. Zalewski (D – Riverside) for their valuable assistance; Senate Chief Sponsor and President Pro Tempore Senator Bill Cunningham (D – Chicago ); Chief Co-sponsor Senator Ram Villivalam (D – Chicago); Senator Jason Barickman (R – Bloomington); Senate President Don Harmon (D – Chicago), Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R – Hawthorn Woods), House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D – Hillside); House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R – Western Springs), and all other co-sponsors and supporters.
“Despite passing unanimously in both chambers, by no means was this easy,” said Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of Illinois. “Thousands of families let their elected officials know how important this is to them and many shared their personal stories. The final vote tally is indicative that legislators listened and responded, and for that we are grateful.”