Illinois Governor to propose preschool for all kids 3-4 yrs. old

Illinois might have trouble balancing its' budget.Illinois has the largest underfunded public pension system in the United States.Now the Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Illinois would become the first state to offer universal pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-old children, under an election year proposal Gov. Blagojevich will announce today, officials said Saturday.

Under the five-year "Preschool For All" initiative, all Illinois families would have the option of sending their children to state-funded preschool, an opportunity long pushed by education researchers and advocates as critical to improving academic achievement and leveling the playing field for children of all economic backgrounds, officials said.

The initiative calls for an additional $135 million to be spent over the next three years to provide a minimum of 2-1/2 hours a day of preschool to families at any and all income levels, as opposed to the current state preschool targeting of only children who are academically at risk, officials said.

One wonders whether these pre-schools will be as successful as the Chicago Public Schools.