Gov. JB Pritzker signs a bill in Chicago to create the Department of Early Childhood on Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill Tuesday to create the Department of Early Childhood as early childhood development and education remains a top priority of the governor’s second term.  

“We can create an Illinois where no outcome is predetermined by race or ZIP code or socioeconomic status,” Pritzker said. “That all starts in these earliest years. Today is just one, but an important one, a major milestone step forward for our state.”