The General Assembly is back in Springfield this evening to start their last week of Spring Session. Scroll to the end for a complete to-do list of actions for reaching out to your legislators! But first, here are our updates on what’s needed and what’s still moving…

The latest wave of a backlash against Big Tech’s takeover of the K-12 education system has been building around the country in recent months.After the jump we’re covering a few of the symptoms of this takeover first and then take a look at what solutions might be brewing here in Illinois:

We've got lots of important updates below, including good news on protecting student privacy in CPS and recent wins on the voucher front, bad news on the millionaires tax, and our plans for May Day.

If you are on social media, you can get many of these updates as they break via our feeds: Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads.

A millionaires tax could still appear on the ballot in November. The last day for the General Assembly to approve a resolution to put a ballot referendum to amend the Constitution is May 3rd. This is under discussion among House members today because the resolution is starting on the House side.

Update: The Chicago Board of Ed did not hold a vote on the anti-federal voucher resolution on Mon. March 30th, and it is now on the agenda (26-0408-RS1 p. 16) for the Wed. April 8th meeting. You can register for the lottery to speak at the meeting here. And you can submit a written remark here. Suggested comment language and details on contacting your Board of Ed member below.

No matter their zip code, their religion, or their race, what most Illinois families want is a well-resourced public school right where they live and play, a school where every child is welcome and has the freedom to learn and grow. As an advocacy organization, we support bills that get us closer to that vision, and oppose bills that push that vision even further out of reach. 

Thousands of bills are introduced in Springfield every session. Here's some of the bills that we are supporting or following closely during the spring 2026 session of the 104th IL General Assembly. 

Key bill we are supporting

Prohibit federal vouchers - SB 3966 [Fact Sheet] This bill will prohibit Illinois' from participating in the harmful new federal school voucher program created by Congress and set to begin on January 1, 2027. 

Other bills we support

Bills we're monitoring

School Cell Phone Ban - SB 2427/HB 3488 These bills would require school districts to create a policy banning non-school-issued cell phones and other wireless devices during the school day. IL-FPS is concerned about the impact of cell phone use on children and young people. However, we are also concerned about negative implications of punitive policies on students' educational access, especially students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students and students of color. Moreover, we'd like to see policy and legislation that holds tech companies directly to account for the costs of their technology rather than placing that burden on children and schools. We are pleased to see that the most updated versions of this legislation do bar schools from using exclusionary discipline. 

Looking for our past legislative agendas? 2025- 104th GA, 2024 - 103rd GA, 2023 - 103rd GA, 2022 - 102nd GA, 2021 - 102nd GA; 2020 - 101st GA; 2019 - 101st GA; 2018 - 100th GA

Strong public schools that welcome and nurture every child and young person benefit all of us. But, the Trump administration is engaged in an effort to undermine and ultimately dismantle our public school system—in line with their larger agenda of undermining the public good and the foundations of a democratic society.

The attacks on public schools include attempts to shut down the US Department of Education and withholding and cutting federal education funding. One tool: expanding school voucher programs across the country.

Congress approved Trump’s plan to create a new, unprecedented national voucher program in July 2025. You can read our Q&A about it here: “What to know about the new federal school voucher program”

As it stands, every state has the option of saying NO to this program. Governors can refuse to have their state participate in conjunction with any laws passed by their legislature regulating that participation. In January more than 45 organizations wrote to Gov. Pritzker urging him to opt out of the program. You can read that letter here. 

Take Action

• Write to Governor Pritzker and your state senator and state representative urging them to say NO to the federal voucher program for Illinois. Use our letter-writing tool to send those emails.
• Call Governor Pritzker's Springfield or Chicago offices. Here's a quick script you can use or adapt:

• Call your state senator and state rep to pass legislation to keep federal vouchers out of Illinois. There are two bills currently in the Illinois Senate with Democratic sponsors, one would opt Illinois into the program, the other would prohibit Illinois from participating. More on those bills here. Here is a fact sheet to share with your legislators: No federal vouchers for Illinois!

Join Our Coalition

The following organizations say NO to federal vouchers for Illinois:

AAUW - Illinois ● Access Living ● Brighton Park Neighborhood Council ● Center For Tax And Budget Accountability ● Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights ● Chicago National Organization for Women ● Chicago Teachers Union ● Citizen Action/Illinois ● COFI ● Cook County College Teachers Union ● 44th Ward Action ● Illinois Families for Public Schools ● Illinois Federation of Teachers ● Illinois National Organization for Women ● Indivisible Chicago Alliance ● Indivisible Chicago Northwest ● Indivisible Lincoln Square ● Indivisible Greater West Loop  ● League of Women Voters of Illinois  ● Learning Disability Association of Illinois ● National Association of Social Workers - Illinois Chapter ● National Council of Jewish Women - Chicago North Shore ● National Council of Jewish Women - South Cook Section ● Network 49 ● Palatine Supports Public School ● PEER Illinois ● The People’s 32nd ● POWER-PAC IL ● Sunrise Movement Chicago ● 39th Ward Neighbors United ● Trans Up Front Illinois ● West Suburban Teachers Union, Local 571

Please reach out if your community organization, independent political organization or union would like to endorse this campaign to keep federal vouchers out of Illinois: [email protected]

Strong public schools that welcome and nurture every child and young person benefit all of us. And—because of that—public schools are one of the foundational institutions in our country that Trump and his anti-democratic lackeys are trying to destroy.

One method of destruction that Congress voted last month to roll out is a nationwide school voucher program.

Congress passed a massive and harmful bill in early July that includes sweeping cuts to essential programs that millions of people rely on every day. From healthcare and food assistance to housing, and clean energy investments, the harm done by this law will be felt in communities across the country—including in our public schools. To help break it all down, Citizen Action Illinois is holding a virtual briefing this coming Monday, Aug 11th at 11am with leading experts from the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness, Illinois Environmental Council, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, and Illinois Families for Public Schools.