Resolution supporting a plan to establish high-quality universal birth to five early care and
education f y.
Updated 9/8/14
Whereas, the State of lllinois's current "Preschool for All" program was and is an important and necessary step towards achieving universal affordable preschool for all, but has been forced to limit access and cap the number of slots available; and
Whereas, The State of lllinois's "Preschool for All" program is limited to partial day programs; and
Whereas, The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago lack adequate early care and education programs and funding to fully meet the needs of children and families, and the existing early care and education services make it difficult for families to navigate the multiple services, schedules, and early care and education settings; and
Whereas, More than 150,000 children birth through age four in Chicago do not have access to full-day quality, publicly-funded early care and education; and
Whereas, Only 5% of eligible Chicago infants and toddlers have access to federal Early Head Start programming in the city; and
Whereas, The average annual cost for child care for an infant in Cook County, at $12,359 per year, is higher than in-state tuition and fees at a public 4-year university; and
Whereas, The Mayor of the City of Chicago claims to have established access to universal preschool for low income students, but the City has, in fact, seen a net decline in enrollment and access during the Emanuel Administration's tenure, and
Whereas, Research shows that gaps in children's development appear earlier than preschool, and that supporting high-quality responses including early learning and care can diminish those gaps and build a strong foundation for the youngest children; and
Whereas, According to a report by America's Edge, a membership organization of business leaders, the average working parent in America misses five to nine days of work because of child care problems; and
Whereas, Also according to the report by America's Edge, for every $1 invested in early care and education in Illinois, $0.96 is generated in additional spending within the state, for a total new investment of $1.96 - higher than investments in other major sectors such as transportation, retail trade and manufacturing; and
Whereas, According to the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, teacher-child relationships are central to child care quality and child outcomes, and research has found strong associations between staff wages and the quality of child care and early education programs; and
Whereas, According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median wage for child care workers in the Chicago metropolitan area is $10.76 and for preschool teachers is $12.39, making it difficult for early childhood workforce to support their own families, and driving turnover that is disruptive to child development and drains the industry of experienced, skilled workers; and
Whereas, Funding levels for most early care and education programs are insufficient to provide affordable full-day early care and education to families while also covering the costs of fair compensation for early childhood workers; and
Whereas, According to Professor Howard Chernick of City University of New York, increasing progressive funding structures to finance programs like universal early care and education can in the long run increase productivity and increase economic growth; and
Whereas, the city and the schools have paid hundreds of millions of dollars on toxic interest rate swaps since the financial crisis in 2008, and
Whereas Rule G-17 of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) requires swap dealers and underwriters to deal fairly with municipal borrowers, which means that they "must not mispresent or omit the facts, risks, potential benefits, or other material information about municipal securities activities undertaken with the municipal issuer;" and
Whereas municipal borrowers may file an arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for violations of MSRB Rule G-17; and
Whereas, the Baldwin County Sewer Service in Alabama has already recovered $10 million by demanding arbitration on toxic interest swaps with banks; and
Whereas, The City of Chicago should enact progressive revenue measures - where the tax burden is shifted from working families to the wealthy and large corporations - for the purpose of providing full-day universal early care and education programs in the City of Chicago; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Chicago City Council supports a plan to establish high-quality universal early care and education programs for all children birth to five- including full-day preschool programs and high-quality universal child care and wrap-around services; and
Resolved, That the Chicago City Council supports a requirement that all early care and education workers be paid at a minimum of fifteen (15) dollars per hour, and supports funding to programs adequate to provide fair wages for all early childhood workers starting from a minimum hourly rate of fifteen (15) dollars per hour; and
Resolved, That the Chicago City Council supports a system where there is parity in rates and wages among all providers of early care and education in the City, including compensation for community-based early childhood teachers with BA degrees equivalent to that earned by public school teachers; and
Resolved, That the Chicago City Council supports a community voice into the City's early care and education programs, and supports an elected board overseeing early care and education in Chicago; and
Resolved, That the Chicago City Council shall enact progressive revenue measures in the 2015 budget to support the needs of children and families for early childhood care and education opportunities. This must include reform of the TIF program to redistribute surplus dollars into preschool and child care programming, renegotiation of toxic interest rate swaps with big banks and call for a LaSalle Street Tax; and
Resolved, That the Mayor will immediately file an for arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in connection with all city and school based toxic interest rate swaps for violation of Rule G-17 of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) to potentially retrieve millions for taxpayers and early childhood care and education.
Chicago City Council Co-Sponsor Addition/Change
Please Add Or Change T he Co-Sponsor As Shown Below.
Alderman CC'hC\*f^ $#*a* A. AtZkfisK ( Ward)
Alderman ' ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Please Remove Or Change The Co-Sponsor As Shown Below.
Alderman ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Alderman ( Ward)
Principal Sponsor
Final copies to be filed with:
- Chairman of Committee to which legislation was referred
- City Clerk