Bill Text: IL HR1026 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Directs the Auditor General to conduct a management, performance, and fiscal audit of Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL).
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-09-09 - Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Tony M. McCombie [HR1026 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2025-HR1026-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The Grow Your Own Illinois (GYO-IL) initiative | ||||||
| 3 | began in 2004 with a grassroots campaign by various | ||||||
| 4 | Chicago-based interest groups seeking to increase the number | ||||||
| 5 | of teachers in Illinois; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, In 2005, the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act | ||||||
| 7 | was passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into | ||||||
| 8 | law by Governor Blagojevich; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, In the FY06 budget, Grow Your Own Illinois was | ||||||
| 10 | funded at a level of $1.5 million and, since then, has grown to | ||||||
| 11 | an appropriation of $6 million; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Grow Your Own Illinois is described as a | ||||||
| 13 | high-touch program that provides wrap-around services to | ||||||
| 14 | students as well as financial aid for aspiring teachers; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, SB 2487 of the 96th Illinois General Assembly | ||||||
| 16 | went into effect on July 1, 2010, moving Grow Your Own Illinois | ||||||
| 17 | from the State Board of Education to the Illinois Board of | ||||||
| 18 | Higher Education; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Board of Higher Education is an | ||||||
| 20 | administrative body tasked with setting policy and ensuring | ||||||
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| 1 | higher education institutions comply with statute; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is an | ||||||
| 3 | agency tasked with administering student aid programs and is | ||||||
| 4 | probably the entity best equipped to handle the operations of | ||||||
| 5 | Grow Your Own Illinois; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Grow Your Own Illinois reports graduating between | ||||||
| 7 | 42 and 85 teachers per year for the past several years giving | ||||||
| 8 | an annual cost per new teacher created of over $70,000, the | ||||||
| 9 | highest of any teacher-focused student aid program in the | ||||||
| 10 | State; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, The State has a vested interest in making sure | ||||||
| 12 | that taxpayer dollars are spent prudently and in the most | ||||||
| 13 | cost-effective way possible; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 15 | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | the Auditor General is directed to conduct a management, | ||||||
| 17 | performance, and fiscal audit of Grow Your Own Illinois | ||||||
| 18 | (GYO-IL); and be it further | ||||||
| 19 | RESOLVED, That the audit shall include, but need not be | ||||||
| 20 | limited to, the following determinations: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) The cost of the program to operate and a breakdown of | ||||||
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| 1 | expenditures since 2018, including but not limited to a | ||||||
| 2 | breakdown of spending on an annual and total basis for the | ||||||
| 3 | following: | ||||||
| 4 | (a) Money spent on GYO-IL staff salaries, benefits, | ||||||
| 5 | travel, etc.; | ||||||
| 6 | (b) Money spent on buildings, rent, and other | ||||||
| 7 | structural costs; | ||||||
| 8 | (c) Money spent on student financial aid, and the | ||||||
| 9 | types of aid offered, including cash assistance, | ||||||
| 10 | scholarships, housing stipends, etc.; and | ||||||
| 11 | (d) Money spent on wrap-around services for students | ||||||
| 12 | and the types of services offered; | ||||||
| 13 | (2) The outcomes of students, including, but not limited | ||||||
| 14 | to: | ||||||
| 15 | (a) How many students have been accepted into GYO-IL; | ||||||
| 16 | (b) How many students have successfully graduated from | ||||||
| 17 | their teaching program while in GYO-IL; and | ||||||
| 18 | (c) How many students have not successfully graduated | ||||||
| 19 | from their teaching program while in GYO-IL; and be it | ||||||
| 20 | further | ||||||
| 21 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the | ||||||
| 22 | State Board of Education, Grow Your Own Illinois, and any | ||||||
| 23 | subordinate agencies or entities related to the program | ||||||
| 24 | established under the Grow Your Own Teachers Education Act | ||||||
| 25 | that could provide insight or useful information to the audit | ||||||
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| 1 | shall cooperate fully and promptly with the Office of the | ||||||
| 2 | Auditor General in the conduct of this audit and production of | ||||||
| 3 | findings; and be it further | ||||||
| 4 | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence with this | ||||||
| 5 | audit as soon as possible and report his findings and | ||||||
| 6 | recommendations upon completion in accordance with the | ||||||
| 7 | provisions of Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; | ||||||
| 8 | and be it further | ||||||
| 9 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | delivered to the Auditor General, the Executive Director of | ||||||
| 11 | the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the Executive | ||||||
| 12 | Director of Grow Your Own Illinois. | ||||||
