the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Feb 3, 2025
Child care workers and advocates delivered a petition with the signatures of over 1,800 Chicago residents to the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson, calling “to make child care jobs good jobs” and “to ensure every Chicago family has access to child care.” One child care worker noted that she had lost her home to foreclosure after 17 years.
Child care workers receive some of the lowest pay, despite how vital—and demanding—the job can be. And, as their pay fails to keep up with the cost of living, fewer workers are able to live on these jobs. This can mean more work for those left on the job and fewer children who can be cared for.
Since 2020, Chicago has lost nearly a third of its licensed child care centers—from more than 800 to less than 600 centers today. And this trend began well before the pandemic and extends well beyond Chicago. Over the past decade, Illinois also lost a third, or nearly 4,300 providers. So it’s harder for parents to find child care in their neighborhood, as local centers either close or institute long waiting lists.
At the same time, parents across the country are having to spend more for child care—typically around 15% of their pay—and, on average, $14,070 per year, per infant. For some parents—typically mothers—this expense means it doesn’t even make sense to take a job out of the home.
How does that add up? This society is not organized to care for working-class children. Many jobs don’t pay enough to afford child care. Federal and state programs are designed to subsidize care for only a slice of working-class families. And these programs are only funded to aid a small fraction of those children who qualify.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker promised, back in 2019, to make the state the “best in the nation for families raising young children.” But the state has lost 1,300 more child care providers in the years since.
Child care was hot enough for both presidential candidates to talk it up on the campaign trail as well. But, the election is over. Don’t hold your breath on any solution there either.
Working people produce more than enough wealth to fully fund child care and all the services we need. But the wealthy class of this society diverts an increasing share of that wealth into their profits, and the politicians help them do it.
Every social service we’ve won came only through massive, organized and determined fights. And that’s the only way we’ll build a society that serves us.