An expansive early childhood education program, Smart Start Illinois, will be part of the governor’s State of the State and budget speech he will give at noon today.

The program, says Gov. JB Pritzker, “will make us the best place in the nation to raise young children, and it’s a system that will make our system more equitable, focusing in particular on children and families who have less ability to access quality programs, and investing in a workforce made up mostly of women and people of color.”

Pritzker says one goal of the multi-year roll-out is making pre-kindergarten available to all three- and four-year-olds in the state. Child care, early intervention, and home visits are other aspects of the program, which will get a $250 million investment in its first year,