America's Edge releases new report in Illinois
Business leaders from Quincy held a news conference Thursday to release a new America’s Edge research report showing that investments in child care and pre-k provide a surprisingly big boost to local business sales – as much or more in new sales as investments in other sectors such as transportation, manufacturing or utilities. The report also shows that cuts in early learning can result in major immediate losses in sales for Illinois’ businesses.
Illinois’ America’s Edge members are calling on the state legislature to reject proposed cuts to the state’s “Preschool for All” and child care programs. The state’s budget proposal would cut $54.32 million from the state’s “Preschool for All” program, almost 16% from last year’s funding level. The proposed cut is on top of a 10% reduction last year, for a two year cut of $93 million. The governor’s budget also proposes a $73 million dollar cut to childcare, a reduction of approximately 10%. These cuts to early care and education will harm Illinois’ economic recovery by reducing sales of local goods and services and eliminating jobs across the state.
The America’s Edge report finds that when all the proposed cuts in early learning and pre-k are taken together, the cuts total $166 million and would result in a lost of an additional $156 million in sales across the state – hurting many Illinois’ businesses that serve local communities.