Pritzker pitches $433 million early-childhood education plan in East St. Louis

When Jordyn Rubin led her pre-K students during a counting drill Thursday in East St. Louis, they had an audience that included Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Pritzker said seeing the excited 3- and 4-year-olds show off their skills at the Vivian D. Adams Early Childhood Center was a “great experience” as he promoted his proposal to give every Illinois toddler free preschool classes and to increase early childhood education and assistance spending by more than $433 million.

“Just to see their eyes lit up, to see what they’re learning, to hear the engagement with one another and with their teacher, honestly it does the heart good,” he said in a news conference after the classroom visit.

Smart Start Illinois is the name of the early childhood education program that was announced Wednesday as part of the $49.6 billion budget proposed by Pritzker. Along with the stop in East St. Louis, Pritzker also went to Springfield and Mount Vernon on Thursday to promote the Smart Start plan.