Decades of research demonstrate the value of high-quality child care, preschool, and related early childhood services to a stable and productive economy. A new poll reveals that Illinois business leaders, drawing on their own experiences, strongly concur — with 91.5% supporting greater public investments in birth-to-5 priorities that they call critical to maintaining their current workforce as well as developing a skilled workforce for the future. The nonprofit, nonpartisan ReadyNation Illinois network of business executives commissioned Zogby Analytics to conduct this statewide survey of 400 employers and managers in December 2024/January 2025. Poll findings show business leaders’ deep concerns for employee child care struggles and their ripple effects on productivity, as well as employers’ own challenges in hiring skilled workers — matters that could be addressed with further investments in early care and education, respondents say.
