Sixty percent of EPIC students come from the 60617 ZIP code in South Chicago. According to the 2021-22 Illinois Report Card, 93.6% of students at EPIC are low-income, while 14.3% are homeless. Schools officials tout their 85% graduation rate and their nearly 90% college acceptance rate. Within the school’s charter agreement, EPIC can have a student body of only 600, but with the new building, the school hopes to grow its student body to 800.
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.