Ex-U of I trustees chairman Chris Kennedy leads new progressive think tank

CHICAGO — Former University of Illinois trustees Chairman Christopher Kennedy will lead a new Chicago think tank that plans to promote progressive public policy in the state.

Innovation Illinois said in a news release Thursday that it plans to focus on education, employment, health care and other areas.

Kennedy, who will chair Innovation Illinois, says it will promote policies in Springfield it believes will help working families.

The group plans to release a report sometime in the coming weeks with recommendations from a recent policy summit and highlight what it believes will be the effects of the proposed state budget recently introduced by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Kennedy resigned from the University of Illinois this year. He is a Democrat and the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.