Increases to Early Childhood Left Out of the 2024 City of Chicago Budget

And yet, the needs of Chicago’s early childhood system continue to grow. The workforce crisis continues to dampen the City’s ability to provide high-quality early childhood education to learners aged birth to five, with lack of pay parity between center-based and school-based teachers making recruitment and retention efforts that much more difficult. The Chicago Early Learning platform and community collaborations remain one of the key ways parents access information about programs and services available to their family. Family Connects Chicago consistently sees overwhelmingly positive results from utilizing evidence-based practice to support families with newborns in navigating City resources. We will continue our advocacy to see these resources appropriately funded, expanded and accessible to caregivers of young children in Chicago.

Despite the lack of additional investment in early childhood in this budget, Mayor Johnson has made his commitment to education and early childhood clear both through his campaign and in actions he has taken in office to-date. During the Early Childhood Town Hall hosted in September by Every Child Ready Chicago, Mayor Johnson declared that “early childhood is a priority for the Mayor’s Office.” We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the Johnson administration to continue building on previous efforts to increase access to and quality of early childhood programs and services in Chicago. Start Early remains steadfast that our earliest learners, from birth to age five, should remain one of the City’s policy priorities for strategic increased investment.