A thriving adult education ecosystem, wherein every Illinois resident has access to quality English language and life skills learning resources to enable compelling participation in civic, economic, and personal communities.
To promote literacy awareness and support literacy programs throughout the state to benefit all residents of Illinois.
Equity: commitment to access, representation, humility
Collaboration: organizations working together
Self-Determination: individual agency, respect for cultural differences and personal goals
Confidence: every person can learn
Joy: learning to communicate is fun and enables new and remarkable experiences
Knowledge: research-informed, efficient, productive strategies
For over 30 years, the state of Illinois has demonstrated a commitment to improving lives through literacy education. We believe that learning to read and write conveys an experience of personal dignity, strengthens the economy, improves health, and enlivens the community.
Amidst a national push for literacy education in the 1990s, the Literacy Office was created as a division of the Illinois State Library under Secretary of State Jim Edgar. In 1993, the office of Secretary of State George Ryan established the Illinois Literacy Foundation by statute, inviting individual and corporate support of statewide literacy initiatives. The work continued under the leadership of Secretary of State Jesse White, whose administration focused on childhood literacy projects, book distribution programs, and community reading events.
In 2023, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias initiated an effort to strengthen the ILF: to ramp up development and reorient programming to support the whole lifespan of literacy. The ILF is unique across the United States as an independent 501(c)3 affiliated with a state agency and committed to literacy education. The ILF will continue to support the State Literacy Office. Together, they will inform, organize, and support the work of literacy organizations across the state through existing and new programs. The ambition is that Illinois might provide a national model for encouraging the highest possible levels of literacy for all residents, regardless of geography or identity, contributing to the well-being of all.