Illinois students should be graduating high school ready with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in life after high school—college and career. Today all high school graduates need some postsecondary education and/or training if they are to have options and opportunities in the job market. In Illinois, 8 of 10 employers say they need employees with some postsecondary education. Currently, only 56.9% of Illinois residents have a high-quality post-secondary college or career credential (according to the Lumina Foundation’s Stronger Nation report). These realities in Illinois have driven communities to look for broader solutions to what are increasingly seen as systemic problems in the education-to-employment continuum.

The Illinois Education and Career Success Network (formerly the Illinois 60 by 2025 Network) is a growing network of communities in Illinois that are committed to advancing equitable postsecondary attainment.

The Success Network

In 2009 the Illinois P-20 Council established a goal for Illinois to increase the number of adults with high-quality college degrees and postsecondary credentials to 60% by the year 2025. While the P-20 Council and State agencies monitor this goal and focus on State policy to support it, State policy alone will not drive the local efforts needed to ensure students seamlessly progress to and through postsecondary education and into the workforce.

Recognizing the emergence of local initiatives across Illinois to increase postsecondary attainment and the lack of a statewide support infrastructure, the Illinois 60 by 25 Network was launched in 2013 by three Network Organizers: Advance Illinois, Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University (EdSystems), and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). In 2022, the Network updated its name to the Illinois Education and Career Success Network, to express our purpose and vision for 2025 and beyond.

To increase meaningful and equitable postsecondary attainment, Network Organizers support the Leadership Communities by:

• Hosting an annual conference
• Providing technical assistance
• Sharing best practices
• Connecting local community efforts to state policy to advance equity-centered postsecondary goals
• Building local capacity to develop and scale efforts through:
  • Providing funds to communities through mini-grants
  • Providing the Leadership Community Dashboard to help communities analyze regional data on education and workforce system characteristics