Governor Quinn announced that Illinois is one of 16 finalists in the u.s. department of education's 'race to the top' grant program. Race to the top is a $4.35 billion competitive grant program funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, Wisconsin did not make the cut.

The rest of the Round One finalists are...

Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.