Illinois' state-funded preschool program, the Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children at Risk of Academic Failure, is serving almost 19,000 children in the 1989-90 period on an allocation of 48 million dollars, which was distributed to 184 projects in 353 school districts. The preschool projects serve children of 3-5 years, who are taught 10-15 hours a week by teachers with early childhood or day care supervisor certificates. This report discusses preschool expansion, access to services, program effectiveness, and issues for further study and action. Section I, on preschool expansion, reports growth of funds and services, estimated numbers of children who need these services, expansion that would meet the estimated need, and the use of preschool funds by individual projects. Section II, which studies access to services, describes children of working parents, differences in urban and rural access to services, and the problem of access to services for children in Chicago. Section III, on program effectiveness, explores aspects of effective preschools, effects of the Children at Risk Program, and long-term evidence of effectiveness. Section IV takes up the issues of screening systems, integration of children with disabilities, and increased collaboration among early childhood programs. Appendices provide related legislation, project-by-project comparisons, and data on variations in projects' use of preschool funds. (RH)