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FIRST ON FOX: A Black advocacy group blasted Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker ahead of the Democratic National Convention in his state, accusing him of failing Black students across Illinois.
"Governor Pritzker has failed Illinois’ Black students, and he has no one to blame but himself," Darius Jones, founder and executive director of the National Black Empowerment Action Fund, said in a statement to Fox News Digital Friday.
The group, which often aligns with Democratic policies and politicians, called out Pritzker, who was on Vice President Kamala Harris' short list for vice president, for his record on education funding in accordance with state law.
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Pritzker is the governor of Illinois. (John Nacion/WireImage)
"Rather than helping Black students, Pritzker has turned his back on them by systematically underfunding their schools, denying them the high-quality public education that every child is entitled to," Jones said.
"This puts multiple generations of Black children who deserve a fair shot at a severe disadvantage as they are ignored by a governor who clearly has other priorities. That’s just wrong."
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The Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act, which was signed into law in Illinois in 2017, laid out that the government would use a specific formula to determine where to allocate money with a requirement of fully funding public schools by 2027.
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The report criticized Pritzker's commitment to fully funding schools. (iStock)
According to NBEAF and the Partnership for Equity and Education Rights (PEER IL), Illinois must increase its education funding by over $7 billion by 2027. However, in the years since its passage, the funding has only been increased by the minimum amount of $350 million per year, including during Pritzker's administration.
"If Illinois does only the bare minimum annually, it will not come close to meeting the law’s deadline for full funding," the NBEAF report says.
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Vice President Kamala Harris (Getty Images)
The law requires the state to fulfill its duty in accordance with the Illinois Constitution, which lists its goal as providing "the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities."
Per the report, 95% of Black students' school districts are currently underfunded. It further claims White students in Illinois are over four times more likely to be in well-funded districts, reinforcing racial disparities in education.
Pritzker's office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
The report and criticism of the Illinois governor come just days before Pritzker hosts Democratic leaders from across the country in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
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