By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Backers of a plan to consolidate early childhood services into one new state agency laid out a two-year timeline Wednesday to a Senate committee. The Department of Early Childhood was a priority Gov. JB Pritzker mentioned last month in his State of the State message.

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) is carrying the bill and told her colleagues, “Our goal here is to take all of the services that are spread across three agencies” – the Illinois State Board of Education, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services  – “and we’re proposing to unite all of them into one new agency.”

“Let’s not forget: this is about children.” said the chair of the Senate Executive Committee, State Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin), “and while I understand there is a difference of opinion of how we approach this, we need to remember the children, and these providers want to do care for those children, and they’re struggling right now to stay afloat.”

The bill passed the committee unanimously.

SB 1 has passed the Senate Executive Committee.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]