Track Every Dollar
Illinois: every school dollar
Where Illinois's public school money comes from, where it goes, what Washington sends, and how the state spends its lottery money. Select any line for more.
- Public school money, 2023-24$48.0 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$21,776U.S.: $17,619
- Students1,838,674977 school systems
- Lottery money to education$784 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$48.0 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $4.9 billion10.3%
Inside the federal total: $2.0 billion of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $18.5 billion38.6%
Local $24.6 billion51.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file
Where it goes
$46.2 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $19.7 billion in salaries and wages, $5.6 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $23.8 billion.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file
Spending per student over time
Not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 20. summary tables
What Washington committed
Department of Education money committed for use in Illinois in fiscal year 2025: $3.4 billion. The programs below include money from Agriculture (school meals) and Health and Human Services (Head Start), and college aid (Pell).
Why this differs from the federal line above: that line is what Illinois's schools received in the 2023-24 school year (Census). This one is what Washington committed in a later federal year, including college aid, which schools never receive.
| Program | What it is | Illinois | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $1.4 billion | 3.5% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $780 million | 4.3% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $765 million | 2.8% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $592 million | 4.2% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $444 million | 3.8% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $74.9 million | 3.5% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $59.7 million | 4.4% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $56.1 million | 4.2% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $50.8 million | 3.6% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $42.1 million | 3.7% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $34.4 million | 3.8% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $33.2 million | 2.1% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $31.3 million | 3.6% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $17.5 million | 4.4% |
Source: USAspending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Federal fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), money committed (obligated) by state where it is used. usaspending.gov
How is Illinois spending the education lottery money?
Illinois law sends the net proceeds of the Lottery to the Common School Fund (K-12 education), except proceeds of specialty games that the Lottery Law dedicates to named causes. The lottery began in 1974.
What the law says
The promise: All net proceeds to the Common School Fund, except specialty game proceeds; since FY2018 these transfers are to be supplemental to, not in lieu of, other money due to the Common School Fund.
"The entire net proceeds of the Lottery are to be used for the support of the State's Common School Fund, except as otherwise provided in this Act."
20 ILCS 1605/2; 20 ILCS 1605/9.3 ilga.gov
- Tickets sold$3.8 billion p. 11
- Prizes 69%$2.6 billion p. 11
- Retailers 5%$172 million p. 12
- Running the lottery 5%$200 million p. 11
- Sent to the state for its programs 21%$796 million p. 11
- Of what was sent to the state, to education$784 million p. 22
Of every dollar of Illinois lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 21 cents reached education.
What it paid for, FY2025
Payments made during the year. They include money earned in earlier years, so they do not add up to the year's total sent to education.
- Common School Fund$784 million p. 22
- UNCF Scholarship Fund$1.2 million p. 22
- Illinois Dream Fund$1.2 million p. 22
- Multiple Sclerosis Research Fund$1.2 million p. 22
- Special Olympics Illinois and Special Children's Charities Fund$1.3 million p. 22
- Illinois Veterans Assistance Fund$1.3 million p. 22
- Criminal Justice Information Projects Fund$1.3 million p. 22
- Homelessness Prevention Revenue Fund$1.2 million p. 22
- Alzheimer's Awareness Fund$1.2 million p. 22
- Quality of Life Endowment Fund$1.2 million p. 22
- Carolyn Adams Ticket for the Cure Grant Fund$1.2 million p. 22
What auditors found
"The auditors stated the financial statements of the State Lottery Fund as of and for the year ended June 30, 2025, are fairly stated in all material respects."
"In total, this report contains 12 findings, none of which were reported in the Financial Audit."
Every school system in Illinois
977 school systems reported to the Census Bureau for 2023-24. See each one's money in and money out.
The record
- School money: Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances. The district totals for Illinois were added up and checked against the Census state table on seven totals. census.gov
- Federal money: Federal education spending, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Money committed, by the state where it is used. usaspending.gov
- Lottery: State of Illinois Department of the Lottery, State Lottery Fund, Financial Audit for the Year Ended June 30, 2025, Illinois Office of the Auditor General, 2026-01-13. auditor.illinois.gov
- Lottery: Illinois Lottery Law, 20 ILCS 1605/2, Illinois General Assembly. ilga.gov
- Lottery: Illinois Lottery Law, 20 ILCS 1605/9.3 (Expenditure and distribution of lottery proceeds), Illinois General Assembly. ilga.gov
- Lottery: Department of the Lottery, State Compliance Examination for the Two Years Ended June 30, 2025, Digest, Illinois Office of the Auditor General, 2026-03-05. auditor.illinois.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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Track Every Dollar
How is Illinois spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$48.0 billion
- Spent per student$21,776
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$784 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold21 cents to education
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