Equal footing for every child no matter where they are from. That is the message from State Senator Andy Manar who co-chairs the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding. Senator Manar says that their is still a long way to go. On Thursday the commission held a joint hearing of the Senate Appropriations and Education Committees and Senator Manar gave an update about those hearings in an issued press release.

"Today's hearing was an opportunity to update the Illinois Senate on the work of the Commission and its effort to making a more equitable edeucation system a reality."

The commission, which was formed in December of 2019, meets monthly and made recommendations about how to achieve equal form in education at an early age for all Illinoisans. Some of the recommendations include redesigning funding mechanisms to improve equity, building on successful at-home services, and centralizing the early childhood education system.

"The current system only works for some, and it's our responsibility to construct a system that serves working families, bridges inequities forged by decades of negligence and affords opportunity for all." Manar continued by stressing that a lot of communities don't have pre-k programs in public schools or licensed child-care centers for parents who need them who may be working especially in rural areas and undeveloped urban areas.

The commission must have their final recommendations in by January 15th to Governor JB Pritzker.