Illinois out of the Race to the Top, for now

Illinois did not receive any money from the U.S. Department of Education’s first of two rounds of funding through the Race to the Top grant program.  Though Illinois was one of 16 state finalists (read more at our Recovery blog), the only two states to receive funding in the first round were Delaware, which received $36 million, and Tennessee, which received $255 million.  A second round of applications will be accepted for Race to the Top funds in June, and Illinois intends to reapply, according to the Daily Herald, which confirmed with the state board of education that Illinois placed fifth among the sixteen finalists.