On Wednesday, August 27, a coalition of community groups and parents launched a new campaign calling for a meaningful public investment in a universal system of child care and early education for all children under 5.

The campaign, Bright Future Chicago: Where Kids and Parents Come First, is a response to the hardship inflicted upon the city’s working families who are unable to access affordable child care and early education for their children.

Working parents are forced to navigate a maze of mostly unworkable options to secure any early care and education options for their family. Far too often, parents are prevented from working full-time hours and forced to travel to multiple locations outside their community.

Parents, community advocates and other coalition members of the newly launched Bright Future Chicago: Where Kids and Parents Come First Campaign for Universal Pre-K and Early Care and Education. Community groups include Albany Park Neighborhood Council, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Pilsen Alliance, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, and SEIU Healthcare Illinois.

To launch the new Bright Future Chicago: Where Kids and Parents Come First Campaign to address the crisis that the city’s working families face due to lack of accessible and affordable child care and early education. Chicago’s early care and education system is profoundly broken. Over the past two academic years, the number of Chicago children enrolled in preschool has dropped by more than 1,000 students.