Agudath Israel of Illinois is disappointed by United States Representative Jan Schakowsky’s (D-IL) efforts to end Invest in Kids, an Illinois state scholarship program. Since 2018, Invest in Kids has provided scholarship funds to thousands of economically disadvantaged students in Illinois, including hundreds of Orthodox Jewish students. Agudath Israel of Illinois and its coalition partners are working to extend the program past the January 1, 2024 deadline. Representative Schakowsky, however, decided to rally fellow members of Congress against extending the program, and released a joint letter calling on Illinois’ state legislators to end it.
Contrary to the claims made by Congresswoman Schakowsky, the Invest in Kids funding has no adverse impact on public school funding. Ending the program would only cause harm to the 9,600 scholarship students, most of whom are minorities, who rely on the program. By supporting the termination of the Invest in Kids program, Representative Schakowsky is effectively advocating for the interruption of children’s educational experience, which can have lifelong consequences. Her district has more students on scholarship than any other in the state.
“We are deeply disappointed with Representative Schakowsky for leading an effort that could adversely impact more than 9,600 school children, hundreds of whom are her constituents,” said Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, director of government affairs at Agudath Israel of Illinois. “Her rhetoric on this issue is both harmful and painful to our community and we hope that she takes a more thoughtful and sensitive approach in the future.”