Advance Illinois: The State We're In 2025—A Report on Public Education in Illinois

In January 2019, Kimberly A. Lightford made history when she became the first
Black woman to serve as Illinois’ Senate Majority Leader. This 104th General Assembly marks 26 years of her continued dedication to her career of championing her passion for education and youth development. As the youngest person elected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, Lightford emerged as a leading voice in Illinois on education issues that increase access to an excellent education for every child in Illinois.

Leader Lightford has served on the Senate Education Committee for 26 years as either a sitting member, vice chairman, or chairman. She passed notable education reform legislation recognized as a national model. This legislation led to the establishment of more rigorous methods for evaluating teachers and tracking student progress. Leader Lightford started the state’s universal preschool for all program, established no-bullying zones on school playgrounds, and reformed disciplinary practices that were disproportionately affecting at-risk and minority students in 2016. In 2000, Leader Lightford ensured that
students had access to breakfast at school by requiring the State Board of Education to establish the School Breakfast Incentive Program. In 2001, Leader Lightford increased the MAP grant for both full-time and part-time undergraduate students, providing aid to underprivileged students. Leader Lightford also helped to re-enroll high school dropouts by establishing the Illinois Hope and Opportunity Pathways through Education Program in 2009. In 2023, Leader Lightford passed legislation to ensure every student in the
state has access to full-day kindergarten and implemented proposals brought forth by the Whole Child Task Force to ensure we continue to meet the needs of every child’s development. In late 2023, Senate Bill 2243, known as the State Literacy Plan, was signed into law. This law aims to guarantee that all students receive high-quality reading education. By implementing a comprehensive literacy plan, Illinois reaffirms its commitment to closing the achievement gap and providing every child with the essential tools
they need to succeed. In 2024, Leader Lightford also sponsored Senate Bill 1, which aimed to establish the Department of Early Childhood in Illinois, consolidating the administration of early childhood education and care programs and services.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hailed the senator’s landmark education reform law, Senate Bill 7, as “a national model” that aimed to boost student performance through accountability for schools, administrators, and teachers. The legislation, approved in 2011, was the most significant education reform in 30 years, with the hope of ensuring every child in Illinois public schools has a quality teacher. Leader Lightford also sponsored Senate Bill 100, which was created to address the issue of Black students being expelled disproportionately more than their peers. Effective in 2016, the bill established a
set of criteria that mandates all other appropriate interventions have been exhausted and that out-of-school suspensions lasting longer than three days, expulsions, and disciplinary removals to alternative schools are reserved for situations where a student’s presence poses a safety threat or substantial disruption to the learning environment.

In 2017, a measure aimed at reducing teen suicide and the stigma of mental health issues was signed into law. Leader Lightford led the effort that requires social and emotional screenings for children as a part of their school entry examinations to promote life-altering early detection. And, after finding that cursive was becoming lost in younger generations, Leader Lightford brought back a requirement for students to receive cursive writing instruction in elementary school. Understanding the critical role recreation centers
play in communities, Leader Lightford secured nearly $3 million for the project, which was named the Lightford Recreation Center on Dec. 1, 2018, by the Maywood Park District upon its completion. In 2021, Lightford spearheaded the first state-funded network in the nation, establishing the statewide Phillip Jackson Freedom Schools program.

Prioritizing workers, Lightford passed her first piece of legislation in 1999, which provides worker protection and transitional assistance for individuals targeted for layoff. Her support for minority businesses has also led to several legislative changes, starting with another 1999 proposal extending the date of the Business Enterprise Program for Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act. Leader Lightford was the lead sponsor in passing legislation that established Illinois’ Equal Pay Act in 2003. Leader Lightford strengthened the act in 2010 by allowing women who have been discriminated against more time to file an action against an employer. In 2018, Lightford passed the African American Equal Pay Act to help combat the wage gap for African Americans. In 2005, 2010, and again in 2019, Leader Lightford fought to reform the Payday Loan industry and is responsible for raising the minimum wage in Illinois three times, including a 2019 measure that gradually increases it to $15 per hour by 2025. In 2023, Leader Lightford sponsored legislation that guarantees paid leave for all Illinois workers, regardless of the size of their business. Effective in 2024, the law requires employers to offer paid time off based on hours worked, without requiring a reason for absences, as long as notice is provided according to reasonable
standards. The minimum wage increased to $15, becoming effective on January 1, 2025, to support workers in making ends meet and reflects our commitment to economic justice, ensuring that all full-time workers earn a living wage.

Leader Lightford served as the Joint Chairman of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus from January 2015 to January 2021. While serving as Joint Chairman, her vision was developed, and she led the effort in crafting the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus’ four-pillar agenda to eliminate systemic racism in Illinois. The passing of this historic legislation created a more equitable Illinois. Criminal Justice Reform, Violence Reduction and Police Accountability, II. Education and Workforce Development (Lightford wants this pillar to indicate she carried this bill), III. Economic Access, Equity, and Opportunity, and IV. Health Care and Human Services. Leader Lightford passed HB2170, School Code Seal of Biliteracy, which created
the Education and Workforce Development Pillar.” Leader Lightford continued to strengthen Black history in Illinois by establishing June 19th as a state holiday for Juneteenth National Freedom Day in 2022 and by declaring February 28th as Black Women’s History Day in 2023.

Since 1998, Leader Lightford has represented the 4th Senate District, which includes more than a dozen suburban communities in western Cook County and the Austin community area on Chicago’s West Side. Leader Lightford is committed to community pride. Lightford created the Uplift Our Future youth programs: the KAL Saturday University offers free supplemental services in reading, math, and writing for middle school students, an annual college fair, a back-to-school event, and mentoring for 8th-grade
students. She also hosts an annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Hall of Fame Award Celebration, We Adore Our Women Breast Cancer Awareness, and We Love Our Men Prostate Awareness Events.

As a life-long resident of her district, Leader Lightford was born in Chicago, raised in Maywood, and resides in Westchester. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Communications from Western Illinois University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She is a Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow and Erikson Institute Fellow. She gained extensive management experience working at the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and the Illinois Secretary of State.

Leader Lightford serves on five statewide Taskforces and Commissions dedicated to improving education, ending poverty, and enhancing the quality of life for Illinois. During the 104th Illinois General Assembly, Leader Lightford serves on the following Committees: Assignments (Chairman), Education, Health and Human Services, Child Welfare, Higher Education, and Executive Committee.

Lightford is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and The Chicago Network. She is on the Board of Directors for Loretto Hospital, Proviso-Leyden Council for Community Action, Inc., The West Cook County Youth Club, Sustaining Our World, and The State Legislative Leaders Foundation.

Linda Xóchitl Tortolero is the President & CEO of the Latino Policy Forum. Formerly the President & CEO of Mujeres Latinas en Accion (Mujeres), she is a longtime advocate for the Latino community, dedicating much of her professional career to fundraising, building strategic relationships, and organizational and program management in the nonprofit sector. 

As President and CEO of Mujeres, the nation’s longest-standing Latina organization, Linda was responsible for carrying out an ambitious programmatic and advocacy strategy to address the immediate needs of Latinas and their families. 

Under her leadership, Mujeres strengthened and expanded its mission of empowering Latinas via culturally competent services and advocacy on key issues such as gender-based violence, women’s health and economic security, immigration, and reproductive justice. She was instrumental in the development and execution of ¡Actívate!, a community data-driven strategy for Mujeres’ policy work that was pivotal in securing a historic increase of $12 million for sexual assault and rape crisis centers in the Illinois FY25 budget. 

Through fundraising and strategy, Linda led the organization’s annual budget growth to nearly $6.5 million and over 60 employees, the expansion of its second office in North Riverside, and the opening of its third office in Brighton Park with partner Esperanza Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center. During her seven-year tenure, Mujeres became a national Culturally Specific Sexual Assault Center under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and today provides training and technical assistance to Latine communities and organizations across the U.S. 

Linda holds a B.A. from Brown University and J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and serves on the Women’s Advisory Council of the Mayor’s Office for the City of Chicago and on the Board of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. Linda is the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants.

Julie Morita, MD, is President & CEO of The Joyce Foundation, overseeing the charitable distribution of $65 million annually from assets of $1.3 billion. The Joyce Foundation funds policy and other strategies designed to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

Before joining The Joyce Foundation, Julie was executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), overseeing programs addressing systemic barriers to racial and health equity.

Prior to her role at RWJF, Julie helped lead the Chicago Department of Public Health for nearly two decades, first as a medical director, then as chief medical officer. In 2015, she was appointed commissioner. In that role, she oversaw the public health needs of nearly 3 million residents in the nation’s third largest cityJulie has also served as an advisor to the White House, U.S. Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

A Chicago native, Julie earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and her medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.

Dr. Steven Isoye was appointed Chair of the Illinois State Board of Education by Governor JB Pritzker in 2022, with a term through January 2027. He serves as the Central States Region Director and Board member for the National Association of State Boards of Education, and is a delegate for the Education Commission of the States.

A retired educator with 37 years of service in Illinois high schools, Dr. Isoye served as science teacher, department chair, curriculum leader, principal, and superintendent. Most recently, he served from 2016-2022 as superintendent of Niles Township High School District 219, where he oversaw curricular and program innovations, facility upgrades, and major improvements to the district’s technology infrastructure. He previously served as superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 from 2010 to 2016. He earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Northern Illinois University in 2011.

Dr. Isoye has served on numerous committees throughout his career. Most notably, having served on the Board of Trustees for the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (1998–2021), ISBE’s State Assessment Review Committee, ISBE's Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, and NASBE's Principal Collaborative of the States. 

His recognitions include Illinois High School Principal of the Year (2010), Illinois Teacher of the Year (1998), and the Milken Educator Award (1997).