(The Center Square) – Republican Illinois state senators have requested extensions on legislation that they say would address Illinois’ child care shortage.
Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, said Senate Bills 2277 and 2382 tackle the biggest challenge working families face, which Hills said is access to child care.
“This is not just a local issue. This is a statewide crisis,” Hills said.
SB 2277 would increase tax credits to businesses that offer child care to their employees. SB 2382 would create a new tax credit for businesses that donate an onsite space for working parents to have child care.
Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, said Republicans have talked with Democrats about the bills, which remained in committee after last Friday’s deadline to move them to the Senate floor.
“Some of this has a cost, and certainly that’s going to be part of the budget process. We want to prioritize child care access and service for families,” Curran said.
Curran proposed SB 1121 to reduce staffing shortages and red tape.
Curran said the legislation would offer loan forgiveness for college students who promise to work in a child care desert, free online training options for child care providers and an extension of child care licenses from three years to four years. Another provision would increase the state’s income cap to qualify for child care assistance from 225% of poverty level to 250%, or, Curran said, from around $74,000 per year to $80,000 in annual household income.
State Sen. Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, joined Hills and Curran at a news conference in Springfield on Friday. Harriss said nearly three of five families in Illinois live in a child care desert. She said the shortage is worse in rural areas, where 70% of the residents have limited or no access to child care.
“This shortage is forcing parents to make impossible choices, driving long distances, relying on unlicensed care or leaving the work force altogether,” Harriss said.
“On the other side, child care providers are battling a mountain of red tape,” Harriss added.
Hills said the statewide shortage of child care access has financial ramifications.
“This is also not just a personal issue. This is an economic one. Businesses across this country are losing over $23 billion a year, because workers can’t find child care so they can go to work. This is a workforce problem and it deserves a workforce solution,” Hills said.
Hills said Illinois has nearly 3.9 million suburban residents in a child-care desert.
“This is extending out to the cities. It’s extending out to the suburbs. It’s not just a rural problem. It’s an Illinois problem,” Hills said.
