Diocese of Joliet pushes lawmakers to extend tax credit scholarships

Officials with the Diocese of Joliet are calling on state lawmakers to extend the life of a state program that allows students at nonpublic schools in Illinois to receive tax credit scholarships.

The diocese held an event Oct. 12 at Joliet Catholic Academy in which parents and students spoke about how they’ve benefited from the Invest In Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program.

The program is slated to end this year.

Illinois enacted the program in 2017 to offer a 75% income tax credit to people and businesses that contribute to a qualified scholarship granting organization, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue. Those organizations in turn provide scholarships for students whose families meet the income requirements to attended a qualified nonpublic school.

Maricarmen Pina, one of the parents who spoke at the Oct. 12 event, said her children were able to go to St. Jude Catholic School in Joliet this year thanks to the program. Pina spoke about the difficulties her family faced after the death of her husband in 2021.

“If the state does not continue the tax credit scholarship program, residents like me will have a much lower chance to get out poverty,” Pina said.

The Invest In Kids program has faced opposition from numerous organizations, such as the Illinois Education Association. The association has called it one of the nation’s “biggest school voucher schemes” and contends it has helped fewer students than promised.

James Quaid, Diocese of Joliet school superintendent, said the program allows children from low-income families to attend religious or private schools that attain “much higher academic results.”

“If the tax credit goes away, what are those families supposed to do?” Quaid said. “You can’t afford the private and religious schools without the tax credit. Some schools will probably also close.”

Jose Granados, a Joliet Catholic Academy student, said the program has helped his family tremendously since they moved from Chicago to Joliet. He said without the tax credit scholarship, he and his brother would not have been able to receive a Catholic education.

Granados said he has built lifelong friendships and connections at JCA from the school’s clubs and the baseball team.

“The tax credit scholarship has also helped me be able to achieve a lifelong dream of mine to play baseball at the next level,” Granados said.