Prairie State Wire has obtained previously unpublished text messages in which Gov. JB Pritzker appears to say some private schools promote “racist,” “antisemitic” or “anti-American” ideas.
In a newly released mid-February text exchange with Comptroller Susana Mendoza, obtained after a lawsuit filed by Prairie State Wire, Pritzker made the comments while questioning whether state should opt in to federal funds from the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship (FTCS) program.
“Remember what it means if all or most of the FTCS money goes to private schools: State/federal tax credit dollars would go to support schools that teach children that gay people are evil, that ‘the KKK was fighting against the decline of morality,’ that white supremacy is God’s will – and other crazy notions,” Pritzker texted.
Pritzker’s comments are aimed at an estimated 1,233 private schools throughout the state, about 22% of all schools statewide, which serve just over 9% of Illinois’ student population.
Pritzker also expressed concerns about how the program would distribute funding and said he was waiting for additional guidance before deciding whether Illinois should participate.
“Trump and the MAGA Congress clearly want the vast majority of the money to bypass public schools altogether,” Pritzker wrote. “I want to know in what proportion can the FTCS $ be used for public schools and to what extent schools teaching anti-American values can receive any of the money. So rather than blindly enact a program for which rules haven’t been published, I plan to wait and learn more, just like 23 other the [sic] governors.”
His comments came after Mendoza shared an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune in which she urged the state’s participation in the program, writing that it would benefit the state’s private schools.
“Here’s an op-ed I did for your consideration to opt in to the FTCS,” Mendoza texted Pritzker, along with a link to the Chicago Tribune column. In the op-ed, she argued that Illinois should opt into a federal scholarship tax credit program or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in education funding to other states.
Mendoza wrote that the program would not reduce public school funding and would instead expand student resources such as tutoring and test preparation. She also wrote, “Either Illinois students will see hundreds of millions of dollars in new resources supporting education or they will watch from the sidelines as that money flows to Washington and other states.”
She noted that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has opted into the program. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, also a Democrat, is another Democratic governor who has opted in.
In response, Pritzker wrote that most governors who have opted in are Republicans.
“On the federal tax credit for students, take note that almost half the governors have not opted in, and almost all the governors that have opted in are Republicans. The reason is clear,” Pritzker wrote.
“The feds have not announced the regulations around the use of the funds. Your op-ed seems to indicate you want me to opt-in before the regs are set. They are not. The Republicans and the ONE Dem that have opted in are doing it for political reasons. The GOP Governors are paying fealty to Trump and caving to some public pressure in their states from private school supporters even though they don’t yet know to what extent public schools can benefit from the tax credit.”
Pritzker also raised questions about how scholarship funds could be used.
“The rest of us are waiting to understand how much of the money can be used for publics and exactly how states can keep the money from supporting schools that teach values that are racist or antisemitic or anti-American,” Pritzker wrote.
Two weeks before the exchange, Pritzker’s administration said the state was still reviewing whether to participate in the program.
“We will evaluate the issue through a lens focused on affordability for working families and what best supports Illinois students, families and public schools,” Pritzker’s office told Fox 32 Chicago.
Juan Rangel, president of the Urban Center, said the program could provide critical support for low-income families in Chicago “trapped in failing public schools.”
“It wouldn’t cover the entire tuition of a child but it would go a long way in supporting kids,” Rangel told Fox 32 Chicago. “And as we’ve seen recently in the last week, a number of Catholic schools are closing down because families just can’t afford to enroll in private schools. This would open up the door to many of those families and hopefully keep schools open.”
Rangel’s comments came as the Archdiocese of Chicago announced six elementary schools were closing.
Catholic school enrollment in the United States has declined over the past six decades, dropping about 70% from a peak of roughly 5.6 million students in the 1964-65 school year to fewer than 1.7 million today, according to a National Catholic Educational Association report.
The texts were released by Pritzker’s office a day after Prairie State Wire filed a public records lawsuit in Cook County alleging violations of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The complaint alleges officials failed to produce communications between Pritzker and Mendoza in response to a February records request and instead provided “no records,” despite evidence that the documents exist.
The lawsuit, brought by Prairie State Wire’s parent company and the Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, alleges the governor’s office did not conduct a reasonable search and engaged in “willfully and wantonly withholding public information.”
A hearing is scheduled for June 12, 2026.
The exchange between Pritzker and Mendoza occurred amid debate over the FTCS program created under legislation signed by Trump in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
The program provides taxpayers up to a $1,700 federal tax credit for donations to Treasury-approved scholarship-granting organizations that fund K-12 education expenses for students in private or home-school settings whose families earn up to 300% of the area’s median income, or about $233,000 in Chicago.
The program begins Jan. 1, 2027, with credits applied to the 2026 tax year and claimed on returns filed in early 2027.
Supporters estimate Illinois could receive up to $1 billion in scholarship funding if the state opts in.
According to Illinois Policy, more than 135,000 voters, or over 63%, supported Illinois joining the program in a March nonbinding referendum in several counties.
Nearly two months after the exchange, Mendoza posted on Facebook in support of participation.
“As a public school mom, I support public and private school kids in Illinois,” Mendoza said on Facebook.
“To be clear: in my guest column, I explain that Congress already passed the program so the only question left for states like Illinois is: Do we allow Illinois school kids (both public and private) to benefit? Or do we only allow Illinois donors to send their donations to out-of-state schools?”
“I say keep Illinois money in Illinois: Opt in.”
The Illinois Catholic Conference also expressed support for Mendoza’s position.
Supporters of the federal scholarship tax credit program have rejected claims that it is a “voucher system,” calling that characterization misleading noting it is funded by private donations in exchange for federal tax credits.
Advocates argue Illinois would lose key benefits if Pritzker does not opt in, since donations would instead go to scholarship programs in other states while Illinois taxpayers still claim the credit. They contend participation would expand educational opportunities without state spending, while opting out would divert resources away from Illinois families.
“This program is funded through private donations that receive a federal tax credit, and the scholarships can be used for educational support like tutoring, books, testing fees, and additional classes. Students in both public and private schools can benefit,” House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) said on Facebook.
“Here’s the part that really matters for Illinois families…If Governor Pritzker refuses to opt Illinois into the program, Illinois taxpayers can still claim the federal tax credit, but the donations will go to scholarship organizations in other states.”
Opposition to the program has come from the Chicago Board of Education, which passed a resolution urging Pritzker to reject it, as well as the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Illinois Federation of Teachers President Stacy Davis Gates, who has called it a “school voucher giveaway” that would undermine public education.
The CTU has donated nearly $1.8 million since 2010 to 84 of the 177 current Illinois lawmakers, according to state records.
Davis Gates criticized the scholarship program and Pritzker’s consideration of participation, calling it “both troubling and confusing.”
“You cannot say you support equity while starving the institutions that make equity possible,” Davis Gates said in a CTU press release. “You cannot celebrate Black History Month on one hand while undermining Black students, Black families, Black working people, and their communities with the other.”
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