Governor’s doors locked on students advocating school choice at rally
A rally Nov. 1 outside Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office in Chicago ended with private school students finding themselves locked out of the public building. They were there to ask Pritzker to save the Invest in Kids program.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Chicago office drew about 30 students and adults Wednesday morning, pushing him to use his clout to save the Invest in Kids school choice program, only to see security guards lock three student representatives out of the state office building in Chicago.
The trio left a signed “Save My Scholarship” poster for Pritzker leaning against the locked revolving door.
The delivery was intended to conclude the rally. Building security guards did not respond when adults in attendance asked why the door was locked, but after the crowd disbursed one said it was state policy that no protests or signage were allowed in the building.
Pritzker’s spokesman, Alex Gough, said he was unaware of the rally and referred to Pritzker’s previous statements on Invest in Kids.
Pritzker’s stance on the nearly 10,000 private school scholarships for low-income students, most of whom are minority, has gone back and forth during his time in office. He recently said he’d sign a bill if the Illinois General Assembly passed one, but then pulled back from that statement.
Invest in Kids is Illinois’ only K-12 private school scholarship program. It is extremely popular among Illinois voters and minority parents.
State lawmakers’ final chance to save the program is Nov. 7-9. If they fail to act, the program dies at the end of 2023.
🚨BREAKING: @GovPritzker‘s staff just locked low-income students out of his Chicago office.
They’re rallying in support of the Invest in Kids Act.
It’s the state’s only school choice program.
Pritzker sends his own kids to private schools. pic.twitter.com/tEcGodZlnN
— Illinois Policy (@illinoispolicy) November 1, 2023
