The fallout of Illinois’ budget crisis gets worse every week.  In the spring and summer, we saw rallies across the state calling for increases in social services funding.  We have a new crisis today: our college students. Not the few who can afford our ever-rising tuition rates, but the ones who need help.

 Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants help financially disadvantaged Illinois college students afford yearly tuition payments. These grants do not need to be repaid and can be used at any approved Illinois college or university.   Statewide, 137,000 students benefit from MAP grants, 3,000 of whom are in the 40^th district.  During this time of recession, MAP applications are up 29 percent, 42 percent of which are community college applicants.  The number of parents applying for MAP grants is also up this year by almost 38 percent.

The General Assembly passed a budget based solely on incoming state revenues.  Because no other funds were available, the legislature funded programs at 50 percent, essentially giving Governor Pat Quinn $3.6 billion to allocate for critical programs like MAP.  As it stands, MAP grants will be available for first semester of this year, but second semester students will receive zero funding.

Locally, Kankakee Community College, Prairie State College , and Governor State University will take massive hits in their grant funding. Kankakee Community College, which received $685,463 in MAP grant funding in Fiscal Year 2009, will receive $286,661 for FY 2010. Likewise, Prairie State College, which received $1,657,752 in FY 2009, will now be receiving $693,272 in FY 2010.   Governor State University, which received $1,910,776 in FY 2009, will be receiving $980,610 in FY 2010.

I am a firm believer in MAP grants because I couldn’t have gotten through college without them.  When I attended the University of Illinois I received a combination of Pell grants, MAP, work-study and student loans. My parents couldn’t simply write a check for my tuition, so I had to piece together my tuition payments because I’d known since kindergarten that college comes after high school.  My husband and I are still paying off our student loans in an amount that rivals our mortgage payment. I am the mother of three children, one of whom is in junior high and I am honestly concerned about how we are going to afford to put him through college. 

We will continue to see the impact of the budget. Many people screamed for cuts without any understanding of what those cuts would do to the people of the state who rely on services the most.  I’ve said all along, we will not fix the systemic problems with Illinois’ budget on cuts alone.  I, along with my colleagues in the State Senate passed House Bill 174, the only solution currently on the table to solve our budget crisis.  It requires nearly $2 billion in budget cuts, but provides stable funds for education, over $500 million in property tax relief, increased tax exemptions for working families and a long-term revenue solution to pay our bills on time.  Unfortunately, this bill was not called in the House and we are now faced with the reality of the worst fiscal crisis this state has seen in a generation. That bill is sadly mired in Democrat versus Republican election year politics, at a time when the reality of our state’s fiscal situation will hit people right at the kitchen table, irrespective of their political persuasion.  

By cutting MAP grants we are turning our backs on college students, the very people we need to train now for the future stability of the state. Article 10, Section 1 of our state constitution says that the fundamental goal of the people of the state is the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities.  Not just rich people who can afford it.  All people.  How can we possibly stand on any moral authority when we tell our children to work hard, do your best in school and go to college, but then remove the tools they need to do it?  If we don’t fix this situation, we are failing our students miserably.   They need us to find real solutions now, not nifty onetime fixes, because investment in our young people today protects all of our tomorrows.