June 24, 2022 | 25 Sivan, 5782 | | Upcoming Elections and Candidate Forums | | With primary elections approaching, Agudath Israel of Illinois' (AIOI) Get Out The Vote campaign has been in full swing, educating the community about the importance of this election and strongly encouraging all to go vote. Oftentimes, however, people are confused as to which candidate they should choose. AIOI, which is a tax-exempt nonprofit, is prohibited from endorsing political parties or candidates, but it can facilitate forums for candidates to meet with various community leaders and activists. Over the last couple of weeks, AIOI hosted 16th House District candidate Kevin Olickal and the incumbent, State Representative Denyse Wang Stoneback. The forums gave the candidates and opportunity to share their positions on issues of importance to the community and gave community leaders the opportunity to ask questions and get clarity on where the candidates stand on our issues.
The topic that dominated both forums was the Invest in Kids Act Scholarship Tax Credit program (STC) and the looming sunset. The program is set to expire soon and unless the legislature votes to amend the sunset provision, this transformative program would be terminated. In addition to providing community leaders with the opportunity to learn more about the candidates, the forums also provided the candidates to learn more about the community and its priorities, helping shape their positions on issues that impact us most. | | Bill that Enhances Scholarship Tax Credit Program Signed by Governor | | | | After many months of intense advocacy by Agudath Israel of Illinois and its coalition partners, a bill to enhance Illinois' tax credit scholarship program was signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker. House Bill 4126, which was passed unanimously by the legislature in April, makes two important changes to the Invest in Kids Act, a scholarship program which has been transformative for tens of thousands of Illinois' students and specifically Chicago's Orthodox Jewish community. The tax credit-funded program has awarded over 30,000 scholarships, totaling over $257 million, to students in need since its inception, enabling families to choose the school that best serves their children's needs. While the program has been incredibly successful, demand continues to outpace supply, with over 170,000 applications since the program's inception. This bill provides stability to students already receiving the scholarship by placing them first in line for awards, so long as they remain eligible. This change helps ensure continuity for students and allows families to make critical and time-sensitive decisions. Another welcome change this bill provides is the ability for schools, together with scholarship organizations, to adjust the maximum scholarship amount, allowing a more efficient use of funds and enable more students to be awarded scholarships. "This is an important bill which has the potential to help thousands of Illinois students in the years to come," said Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, AIOI's director of government affairs. "We are working to ensure the program continues to serve the educational needs of students throughout the state, and this bill helps serve these children better." | | If you did not receive this email directly and would like to receive it in the future, please click here. | | | | | | |
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