Regular readers of the HOTLINE are by now familiar with the dismal record of school performance in the state.

The latest data dump from the Illinois State Board of Education shows more of the same.

Illinois has more than 400(!) schools where less than 10% of kids can read at grade level, and 800 (!!) schools where just 1 out of 10 kids are proficient at math.

That’s nearly one in four of the state’s schools that get an F. And they are mostly located in low-income areas of Chicago.

So what have the Illinois legislature and Governor JB Pritzker (i.e. the teachers’ unions) done to fix the schools?

They shut down the Illinois Invest in Kids Scholarship program – the one initiative that was actually helping thousands of kids.

The program offered a 75% tax credit to individuals and businesses that donate to a scholarship program so kids can attend private schools.

Kids in the program saw big educational gains according to the Illinois Policy Institute. But Illinois politicians are intent on outlawing success and rewarding failure.  When we’ve asked our friends in the know why this happens, the standard answer is: that the school systems are primarily job programs for the adults. Kids come second. It shows.