Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado at Wright College announced that funding from the passage of Rep. Krishnamoorthi’s legislation, The Strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the 21st Century Act, known as The Perkins Act, will support the continued modernization of CTE programs in Chicago. The Perkins Act is the main source of federal funding for high school and postsecondary CTE programs in Illinois. The bipartisan legislation was authored by Congressman Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) to modernize career, technical and vocational education. The Perkins Act, which has been reauthorized for the first time since 2006, will put more than 13 million students on the path towards a family-sustaining job and career in the middle class. Funding for CTE will increase to $1.3 billion nationwide, and up to $47 million in Illinois by 2024, a statewide increase of over $17 million in the next six years.