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state budget action center

Protect Kids by Supporting a Responsible Budget

A good public budget is one that envisions a better future through responsible planning today. It creates and maintains vital public structures – such as schools and colleges, job training, health care, police, fire and human services – that keep our communities strong and our children healthy and educated.

Unfortunately the current national economic challenges, combined with Illinois’ outdated fiscal system, have resulted in a state budget crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Our state must achieve greater fiscal integrity through implementation of a comprehensive solution to our many budget challenges – an approach that continues to reform and modernize our tax system, sets and maintains appropriate spending priorities and strategically contains costs. This balanced approach will support economic-recovery efforts and position Illinois for a prosperous future.

Significant actions will take place in the coming year, so it's crucial to stay involved.  Please sign up for our e-alerts for messages about our shared priorities. We must continue our work together to ensure our children’s – and our state’s – brightest possible future. 

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How you can take action

  •  Contact your legislators regularly about urgent children's issues. Our user-friendly reference guide will help you identify your legislators and understand the best ways to communicate with them.

  • Contact your legislators  and explain that increasing the state EITC to at least 10 percent of the federal credit would improve tax fairness for low-income families, alleviate child poverty during a deep recession, and stimulate economic activity in local communities.  Use this fact sheet and this issue brief for additional information and perspective.

  • Talk to your local elected officials about how the Earned Income Tax Credit improves tax fairness for low-income working families using our testimony to the House Revenue and Finance Committee as a guide.

  • Tell your family, friends and neighbors that the state income tax increase  —
    together with significant spending cuts — has substantially improved the state’s fiscal condition. Our new policy bulletin explains how the nationwide recession and other factors impacting the state budget have masked the effectiveness of the tax increase.

  • Contact Governor Quinn today. Ask him to fully fund important education, health and human services and make children a top priority in all budget decisions. For a list of some programs that are greatly at risk, click here.

  • Invite your lawmakers to visit schools and other programs to see the toll that cuts and payment delays already are taking on kids and families.

  • Use any of the fact sheets and information you find on this site to distribute at community meetings and to friends, family and neighbors.

  • Contact Voices to share a story with news media about the potential impact of devastating budget cuts to your community, organization or family.

  • Contact Voices to organize a public event, such as a press conference or rally, in your district.

  • Join the Responsible Budget Coalition, a powerful statewide campaign committed to building support for solving Illinois’ budget crisis:
         Sign-on as an individual or organizational member
          Visit the Coalition's website for more information and updates 

  • Find events and activities taking place in communities throughout Illinois.

    Further information and resources

    Sign-up for our e-alerts and stay tuned to this page for updates about Illinois’ budget and fiscal crises, as well as opportunities for speaking-up on behalf of children

    Read our Budget & Tax Policy Initiative reports

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