IEA Signal

Federal Cuts Hit Home

The Trump administration announced it's terminating Full-Service Community Schools grants at the end of December—putting 19,000 Illinois students at risk and eliminating mental health services, tutoring, food assistance, and after-school programs at 32 schools from Chicago to Vienna. IEA President Karl Goeke is calling on members to act. Meanwhile, state budget pressures continue. FY26 marked the first time since 2020 that Springfield fell short of the $350 million Evidence-Based Funding minimum, and Superintendent Tony Sanders is already warning that FY27 will be lean. In this episode: what the federal cuts mean for your district, why state funding isn't keeping pace, and how IEA's May Day Strong campaign is building collective power through monthly walk-ins leading up to May 1st, 2026. Plus, how to contact your legislator in under two minutes using IEA's legislative action tool. In This Episode: * Federal community schools funding cut: what's affected and what you can do * State budget reality: EBF shortfall and the FY27 outlook * May Day Strong: join the next walk-in * IEA Representative Assembly: March 12-14, 2026 Resources: * Take action: ieanea.org/may-day-strong [https://ieanea.org/may-day-strong] * Legislative action tool: ieanea.org/legislative [https://ieanea.org/legislative] * ACT Now petition to reinstate grants (linked in show notes)