Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, and state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, recently hosted their fourth annual Education Summit – an event that has grown into a forum for candid, solutions-focused conversations about improving education across northern Illinois.

Educators, administrators, and school board members from across the region participated, offering on-the-ground perspectives about the challenges their districts navigate every day and the opportunities they see to strengthen outcomes for students.

This year’s summit dug into several pressing issues shaping Illinois classrooms, including funding, special education, discipline, truancy, state mandates and additional areas where legislative action could make a difference.

“This is the fourth year we’ve brought everyone to the table to hear directly from those who live and breathe education every day,” McCombie said. “The insight we received today will help us continue pushing for policies that genuinely improve learning environments and give local districts the tools they need to succeed. The dialogue doesn’t end here; this is just the start of our work heading into the new legislative session.”

Both representatives emphasized that the value of the summit comes from the honest feedback shared by local educators and the shared commitment to building better outcomes for Illinois families.

“Thank you to all the education leaders who joined us for our annual education summit,” Keicher said. “Understanding local needs is essential to crafting state policy that truly works. The feedback we gathered today will help us push for policy improvements at the state level to empower local districts to make the best decisions for their students’ success.”

As the legislature prepares to return to Springfield, Reps. McCombie and Keicher will continue partnering with stakeholders to translate the summit’s recommendations into actionable policy.