As the son of a schoolteacher and father of three children, ensuring a quality education for all students in our community is one of my top priorities. Last year, we passed a historic and bipartisan education reform bill called the Every Student Succeeds Act. This bill makes key reforms to return local control to education, reduce federally mandated testing and strengthen the classroom experience for our students.

But in order for this bill to reach its full potential and help as many students as possible, we need to ensure that our schools have the resources they need. Here are just a few of the steps we've taken to increase opportunity through education:

• The Stand Up for Students Act: I introduced legislation to prevent Springfield politicians from taking money away from our classrooms to pay down debt created by years of irresponsible spending.
   
• The HELP for Students and Parents Act: I wrote legislation to reduce the crushing burden of student debt for recent college graduates.
   
• Helping North Chicago Schools: We passed important reforms that I wrote to help North Chicago remain eligible for more than $3 million per year in federal Impact Aid that they use to improve the classroom experience.
   
• Supporting Students with Disabilities: I helped pass an increase in funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides important resources for students with disabilities.

These are just a few of the reasons that the nation's largest public education advocacy organization gave me an "A" rating, and the First Focus Campaign for Children named me a "Defender of Children." I won't stop pressing this issue until we're able to overcome the political games being played by career politicians and do what's best for our students.