Federation of Illinois Independent Colleges and Universities

Sun-Times: 2 options for funding our best & brightest

Released: 9/30/2009

Chicago Sun Times - Commentary

2 options for funding our best & brightest
September 30, 2009

Come January, nearly 138,000 needy students will lose their college scholarships.

The state, you see, budgeted enough to cover their state grants -- averaging $2,600 per student-- only through the first semester.

"It's the difference between me being able to finish school or not," said Anastasia Lucas, a junior at Loyola University Chicago, who already has added a third job in anticipation of losing her grant, bumping her up to 45 hours of work a week on top of her schoolwork.

"You hear over and over again that children are the future, but the message they're sending to us is that education isn't important."

We know the state is facing a financial crisis, but an investment in education is something Illinois cannot do without.

Thankfully, the governor and the state's legislative leaders agree, saying the state must find a way to restore funding. The magic number to fund the spring Monetary Award Program is $202 million.

Now our leaders must deliver. The fall legislative veto session begins Oct 14, leaving just enough time before students sign up for classes for the second semester.

The governor and Democratic leaders want to boost the cigarette tax by a dollar, doubling the current tax. Republicans are pushing an income and sales tax amnesty, which the state says could generate $105 million. Some Republicans also want Quinn to tap into a $1.2 billion discretionary fund allocated to him as part of the state budget to fund state services. That money, though, is largely spoken for, with hundreds of millions in needs still unmet.

Instead, we urge the Legislature to pursue both the cigarette tax and a tax amnesty.

With 138,000 college educations at risk, along with a budget deficit as high as $5 billion, the state needs every dollar it can find.