The list of requests included 51 categories of school spending, with increases totaling $747.9 million, including $68.5 million for implementation of ISBE’s new literacy plan; an additional $30 million to hire more special education teachers to relieve staff shortages; a $30 million increase for multilingual education; and a $60 million increase in early childhood block grants.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.