While Pell-grants and other financial aid offers the payment of college, students of low-income have little to no assistance for cost-of-living expenses. Frequently, students go without supplies, technology, and internet connections; they even live without the security of food and shelter. Students of low-income face barriers that leave them…

Illinois has an important opportunity to dramatically expand comprehensive school-based health services for the state's most vulnerable children by making a simple change to its Medicaid policy. In 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to state Medicaid directors clarifying which health services could be…

In January, 2015, the President unveiled the America's College Promise proposal, which would make two years of community college free for responsible students, letting students earn the first half of a bachelor's degree and earn skills needed in the workforce at no cost. This proposal will require everyone to do their part: community colleges must…

This report, submitted in compliance with 105 ILCS 5/1A-4E, provides a discussion of the overall condition of education in Illinois. Information is included concerning student and teacher demographics; data on teacher and administrator licensure; federal, state, and local resources; and other data on Illinois education. The 2021 Condition of…

Noting that welfare reform offers new opportunities to apply dollars toward several initiatives beyond cash grants, this special report of the Voices for Illinois Children provides a detailed accounting of Illinois welfare expenditures for federal fiscal years (FFY) 1998 and 1999 and is intended to serve as a starting point toward greater clarity…

Describes Illinois's three-part program to give $30 million in direc t aid to parents of non-public school students. Contends that all major st ate programs to give financial aid to non-public schools throughout the nat ion may hang in the balance, pending the outcome in the courts of the Illi nois program. (RJ)

Describes the provisions, development, and future of the Independent-Living Initiative. Discusses its implementation at federal and state levels, and also the plans of the state of Illinois to establish a departmentwide task force to develop a system of services for youths who will be leaving foster care. (RJC)

Presented in this report is an extensive evaluation of three library projects located in Chicago, Peoria, and the suburban Chicago area. All the projects reviewed have strong and weak points. Generally, the strong elements are a vigorous commitment to the people served, emphasis on inexpensive paperback books and collections of books stressing…

In the spring of 2008, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) continued its ongoing research on the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by conducting case studies of six schools in Illinois to learn more about the effects of NCLB and related state accountability policies on curriculum, instruction, and student achievement. The schools…

This report examines possible steps the State of Illinois might take to expand the availability of Medicaid support for services to persons with developmental disabilties. Stressed throughout are the importance of: (1) evaluating whether any given application of Medicaid funding is consistent with the State's goals for persons with developmental…

This study examines the Illinois General Assembly's role in state finance and focuses on how the legislature can best control the scope and limits of state finance. The report is divided into four sections. The first section introduces the language of the appropriations process and the techniques of control applied to that process. The second…

Beginning in 1978, Illinois school districts were required to contribute to unemployment insurance (UI) payments to their former employees. Districts could pay these costs either by reimbursing the state for actual benefits paid (and, in 1978, being in their turn largely reimbursed by federal and state aid) or by paying an annual 1-percent tax on…

Economic and demographic changes are dramatically increasing the need for adult education, basic literacy, and English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) programs. Millions of Illinois residents lack the level of literacy skills needed to obtain good jobs, perform well on the job, and function well in an increasingly complex society. Addressing the scope…

Explains the objectives of a program at the Peoria Public Library (Illinois) that enhanced patron access to music by making it available in CD format and informed patrons of this enhanced access. Discusses the replacement of the LP collection; how titles were selected; cataloging and processing procedures; and grant funds. (LRW)

Prepared by the Illinois State Advisory Committee for submission to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, this report focused on the growing concern among Latino parents, students, and community leaders over alleged violations of Latino students' rights to an education in Chicago, the only city in the United States with a large population of both…