Public Accountability Report

The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) plays a crucial role in boosting the state’s economy and quality of life by investing in the nonprofit arts sector, advancing arts education, and supporting creative artists.

The IAC’s focus for the past few years has been to foster collaboration and partnerships across Illinois, promoting access to arts programs in underserved communities. Through General Operating Support to small businesses, direct funding to schools, and various opportunities for project support, the IAC has worked to equalize opportunities in communities with limited access to arts programs due to geography, economic conditions, age, or diversity.

Highlights for fiscal year 2025:

Oversaw the selection of the new state Poet Laureate

• Mark Turcotte's announcement as Illinois Poet Laureate was the highlight of a celebration recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Illinois Arts Council at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield. The April 29th event also included the announcement of a newly formed Illinois Creative Caucus, a bipartisan convening of Illinois legislators who will identify, promote, and pass legislation and appropriations that strengthen our state’s creative economy. In attendance with IAC Board and staff were Governor JB Pritzker, First Lady MK Pritzker, Deputy Governor Juliana Stratton, Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte, outgoing Poet Laureate Angela Jackson, Illinois Humanities, The Poetry Foundation, Arts Alliance Illinois, as well as numerous statewide constituents.  

Celebrated the 60^th Anniversary of the Illinois Arts Council

• IAC grantees participated in a social media campaign by sharing short 30-second video testimonials demonstrating how the IAC had affected their arts programming or artistic practice. Videos were shared throughout the year and demonstrated the immense impact of the agency.
• Did a statewide tour visiting all six regions of Illinois through site visits and constituent town hall meetings to not only celebrate the impact of the agency, but also to highlight the incredible work happening all around Illinois. It also provided an opportunity to learn more about the struggles of small businesses, schools, and municipalities and what changes the agency could make to allow for easier access and better support. 

Successfully hosted the 2025 One State Together in the Arts and Humanities

• In a new partnership with Illinois Humanities, the IAC held the One State in the Arts & Humanities conference. This gathering is the largest statewide convening of arts, culture, and humanities professionals in Illinois. The 2025 Conference theme, Meeting the Moment, invited all of us to explore what this moment asks of us — and what we can build together through the humanities and the arts.

• In early November 2025, we gathered 307 arts and humanities professionals from across Illinois in Champaign-Urbana for three days of dynamic programming designed to Meet the Moment, including 39 hands-on breakout sessions from 110 presenters. This diverse network of organizations from across the state gathered for a convening created to help participants make connections, develop skills, spark new ideas, and catalyze a vibrant, resilient vision for Illinois’ arts and humanities ecosystem by:
• Sharing best practices and emerging local and national trends
• Deepening our understanding of arts and culture work in different parts of the state
• Supporting skill-sharing, collaboration, and peer learning
• Increasing access to professional development and skill-building workshops

Launched the new Creative Learning Grant for Schools 2025 marked the launch of a new grant program, the Illinois Arts Council’s Creative Learning Grants for Schools which supports arts learning opportunities in Illinois. The goal of this grant is to enable schools to acquire supplies, materials, equipment, or services from Illinois artists or arts organizations that are needed to address student needs for arts learning opportunities.

• K-12 School districts, public schools, and charter schools were eligible to apply for up to $20,000.
• In the inaugural year of the program the agency received an overwhelming number of applications that more than doubled the budget of the program. We anticipate the applicant pool to increase as word-of-mouth spreads in the years to come.