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CHICAGO - Governor Bruce Rauner today convened the fourth Governor’s Cabinet on Children & Youth (the Children’s Cabinet) Quarterly Meeting at Loyola’s Schreiber Center in Chicago.
“Our children are our future. Everything we do as leaders, as elected officials, is about improving the future of the young people of Illinois,” Governor Rauner said. “That’s why I am pushing so hard for a truly balanced budget with meaningful reforms that will create jobs, lower property taxes and improve our schools. The projects the Children’s Cabinet are working on are unprecedented in state government because of the collaboration between each of our agencies. We are beginning to chip away at the silos that exist between – and even within – our own agencies.”
At the September meeting, the Children’s Cabinet adopted three initial projects in which to focus and ensure success. These initial projects included reducing the childhood lead burden, connecting youth to employment opportunities through an “Apprenticeship Plus” program, and developing the early childhood education workforce. The Children’s Cabinet selected these projects for their reach across multiple agencies and their projected impact in service of the Cabinet’s goals.
“The Children’s Cabinet’s goal is for all children and youth in Illinois to be healthy, safe, well-educated, and, by the time they turn 25, self-sufficient in good-paying, high-quality careers,” Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis said. “This is the Children’s Cabinet’s fourth meeting in nine months. We have built a strong vision and significant progress continues to be made.”
The Children’s Cabinet is leveraging public-private partnerships directly in its work and is ensuring they build off the vast expertise in our state across public, private, and not-for-profit bodies. By working collaboratively on these projects, the Cabinet will have the ability to make a measurable and sustained impact on the health, safety, education, and self-sufficiency of Illinois children and youth.
Governor Bruce Rauner established the Governor’s Cabinet on Children and Youth by executive order on February 18th, 2016 and charged the Children’s Cabinet with creating a cohesive state-wide strategy to improve outcomes for children and youth. Chaired by the Governor, the Children’s Cabinet convenes the executive leadership from the fifteen state agencies that oversee initiatives for children and youth, as well as four members of the Governor’s senior team and the Department of Innovation and Technology.
