Rep. Ammons Hails Balanced Budget, Focus on Education

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, issued the following statement regarding her legislative accomplishments: 

“When I returned to session in January, I wanted to put families of color, and the needs of everyday Illinoisans, first, and as this session ends, I can confidently say that we did just that,” Ammons said. “This budget balances our fiscal and social responsibilities, especially as we continue to rebuild Illinois’ fiscal house. To create 21st century education institutions, I fought to put funding for essential programs like Smart Start for early childhood education, and critical MAP and STEM programs into our budget.”

“Black and Brown Illinois children face steep odds when it comes to getting a quality education and building a solid financial future. Hundreds of millions of record investments in evidence-based funding means we’re putting money back into the classroom and empowering teachers, especially those who are tasked with uplifting underserved communities across our state. Budgets are moral documents, empowering people at the state and community level to transform lives, and I can confidently say the budget we passed reflects our Urbana-Champaign values.” 

Ammons focused her legislative efforts on passing substantial educational reforms, working with leading experts, teachers, advocates and community leaders.

“I am proud of the education-focused legislation we’ve worked on over the past few months,” Ammons said. “Our main goal as legislators is to prepare our young people for the future. So, I pushed to have competitive computer science programs as part of the course curriculum in K-12 schools, so we can give kids the tools they need to explore their passions. Students going hungry is a chronic problem on our college campuses, and representing the UIUC community, I made it my mission to allocate funding to address this issue with bipartisan support. Lastly, our incarcerated youth deserve the same education as everyone else, so I implemented a program to prepare them to reenter society. 

“While our legislative session may be ending, there’s more work to be done. I look forward to hearing from my community partners, leading experts and all those invested in moving Illinois forward.”