The end of the school year is supposed to mark the beginning of long, carefree days filled with freedom and adventure for our children. Yet for many families in Illinois, the summer months are clouded by fear and uncertainty because when the school doors close, so too go the daily routines, supervision and safe spaces that protect our kids throughout the year. Especially for families who live in communities where violence tends to spike in the summer heat, these months are filled with anxiety and the very real challenge of keeping their kids safe.
Unfortunately, the proposed “snap curfew” that is currently sitting with the Chicago City Council only makes matters worse, offering yet another opportunity to vilify and criminalize primarily young Black and brown people. A lack of structured activities has consequences: it increases vulnerability to negative influences and makes youth more likely to be involved in — or victims of — violence. Without offering alternative safe spaces, we risk pushing youth, more often from families with low income or BIPOC, further into the margins.
A 2024 analysis by the University of Chicago Crime Lab found that gun violence in Chicago consistently surges during the summer months. Over a five-year period, more than 43.5% of all shootings in Chicago occurred between June and September. We also know that communities of color are disproportionately impacted. Black residents are almost 33 times more likely to be victims of summer shootings than white residents, and Latino residents are over seven times more likely.
After-school and summer programs are a critical part of the solution. They not only provide a safe haven for students but also foster learning, build life skills and connect youth to mentors who become lifelines. In Illinois, especially, the need far outpaces the current availability of programs. Right now, Illinois is failing to meet the needs of over 1 million children who would be in these programs if they were properly funded, according to a recent University of Illinois Chicago report. The data is clear: after-school programs reduce risky behaviors, improve school attendance and boost graduation rates. These programs offer structured activities that keep kids engaged and off the streets during the most vulnerable hours.
In neighborhoods struggling with systemic inequities, these after-school and summer learning programs help narrow opportunity gaps and disrupt the cycle of poverty and violence. Data also suggests that when these programs are accessible and available, families in communities of color take advantage of them. In Fiscal Year 2023, Hispanic students made up the largest population at 39%, while Black students made up 37% of these programs.
Studies show that youth who enroll in after-school programs are 30% less likely to participate in criminal activities and 19% more likely to graduate from high school. In Illinois, where hundreds of thousands of children are left without access to after-school programming, the stakes could not be higher. These programs are a commonsense solution that benefit not only our youth and working families, but entire communities by reducing crime and fostering public safety.
Yet instead of investing in these critical services, the Illinois General Assembly has chosen to cut direct funding for community-based after-school programs from the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget. This decision comes at a time when families need this support the most. While there is a $35 million line item for after-school programs to be doled out by the Illinois State Board of Education, there is still no clear guidance on how these funds will be used — or whether any of that money will make it to community programs that serve the state’s most vulnerable youth. ACT Now Illinois and advocates across the state are urgently calling for transparency and clarification.
Equally troubling, legislation that would have created a statewide Out of School Time (OST) Council — a coordinated body made up of state agencies, legislators, community leaders, and other stakeholders — failed to pass during this session. The OST Council was designed to ensure equitable distribution and oversight of after-school funding, modeled after successful efforts in states like Michigan, Indiana, Texas, and California. Without it, Illinois remains without a clear strategy or infrastructure to guide investment in out-of-school time programs across the state.
Now is the time for Illinois to invest in our children’s futures by supporting after-school and summer programs. After state leaders failed to release $50 million that lawmakers approved in last year’s budget, 27,000 students have already lost access to programming. With an additional $50 million cut from this year’s budget, the full extent of lost services is still unclear — but we do know that at least 15,000 more students are expected to lose access to after-school programming by the end of June. We need leaders who follow through on the promises they’ve made and stop treating youth programming as an expendable line item.
We must take collective responsibility for the well-being of our youth and ensure that every child has access to a safe place to learn, grow and thrive.
