Published: April 26, 2025; Updated: May 5, 2025

Every year, COFI and our parent-led membership organization (POWER-PAC IL) travel to Springfield, Illinois, for “Moms on a Mission (MOMs)”.

MOMs is our annual lobby day, typically taking place on the Wednesday before Mother’s Day. We meet with lawmakers and call on them to support a family-focused agenda focused on early education, education rights, economic security, and healthcare for Black, Brown, and immigrant families.

Full 2025 Legislative Agenda

Children and Family Rights to Economic Security

POWER-PAC IL Saliendo de la pobreza Campaign works to decrease the racial wealth gap by advocating for and implementing policies that put cash in families’ pockets.

Budget – Raise $6B in Revenue: We urge the Illinois General Assembly to adopt the Illinois Revenue Alliance solutions to generate $6 Billion in new state revenue needed to pay for essential programs and services. Click here for the revenue fact sheet.

(SB 753) IL Child Tax Credit – Sen. Aquino: We urge the Illinois General Assembly to increase the Illinois Child Tax Credit to $400 PER child and expand eligibility to families earning no income.

(SB 2392) Illinois Guaranteed Income Fund – Sen. Guzmán: This would create an Illinois Guaranteed Income Fund to provide grants to local/city governments or organizations for guaranteed income pilots.

(SB 1751) SNAP EBT Minimum Increase – Sen. Cervantes / Rep. LaPointe: We urge the Illinois General Assembly to raise the minimum monthly SNAP benefit from $23 to $75. This would help an estimated 178,000 households who receive less than $75 per month afford groceries at a time when food prices are high.

(SB 1298) Expand SNAP Benefit Eligibility for College Students – Sen. Guzmán: This would ensure more programs fulfill work eligibility requirements.

(SB 1419) Healthy School Meals for All – Sen. Ellman: This would allocate $67 Million to improve access and quality of school meals.

Children and Family Rights to Early Care and Education

POWER-PAC IL Aprendizaje temprano Campaign works to ensure universal and equitable access for all of Illinois’ youngest residents to high-quality early childhood programs, enabling them to succeed and thrive later in life.

(SB 1555) Preschool Special Education Council – Sen. Loughran Cappel / Rep. Hirschauer: We urge the Illinois General Assembly to require that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) create a subcommittee of the Advisory Council for Education of Children with Disabilities focused on kids ages 3-5. This would help families and providers advocate for high-quality services for preschoolers with disabilities.

Budget – $60M Increase to Early Intervention: Families are facing service delays for critical early intervention services – like physical, speech, and cognitive therapy. Increasing the budget would address the workforce crisis with greater reimbursement rates to providers. Click here to learn more about addressing the Early Intervention crisis.

Budget – $15M Increase to Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE): This would help students gain scholarships to enter the childhood workforce.

Budget – $170M Increase to Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and Smart Start Child Care: This would ensure child care assistance more accessible to families through increased CCAP grants and caseload management.

Budget – $5M Increase for Home Visiting programs: This would expand services, increase provider pay, and enhance the state’s infrastructure.

Children and Family Rights to Equitable K-12 Education

POWER-PAC IL Justicia elemental Campaign works to break the cycle of criminalization of low-income youth of color by advocating for policies and practices that focus on a student’s physical, emotional, and relational safety.

Budget – Fully Fund Illinois Public Schools: Support more than the $350 Million annual increase to the Evidence-Based Funding Formula. $2.5 Billion is needed to fund our schools fully by 2027.

(HB 3247) Safe Schools for All – Rep. Jiménez: This would protect the right of immigrant children to free and public education in Illinois and protect students from immigration enforcement in schools.

(SB 1519) End Student Ticketing – Sen. Villa / Rep. Ford: This would increase the transparency of police notifications in schools and prevent school referrals to police to issue costly tickets to students for school discipline situations.

(HB 3247)  Fund Afterschool Programs – Rep. Ortíz: $50M for Crucial Afterschool Programs

Children and Family Rights to Health and Human Services 

POWER-PAC IL Mental Health Justice and Equity Campaign works to ensure children and families of color have good mental, physical, and social supports. 

Budget – Protect Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA): HBIA provides lifesaving healthcare to approximately 33,000 immigrant adults ineligible for federal healthcare. Ending the program would lead to avoidable deaths. Read about how one POWER-PAC IL father would be affected. 

Budget – Immigrant Services Line Item (ISLI): We urge the Illinois General Assembly to allocate $40 Million toward important programs and services for immigrants.

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