Springfield, IL- Today, the Illinois Senate voted to restore funding to the Monetary Award Program (MAP), which helps the state’s neediest students pay for an undergraduate college education. "MAP grants help ensure that all Illinois students can go to college," said State Sen. Ed Maloney (D-Chicago), Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. "A college degree opens all kinds of doors. As a society, we have to guarantee no one who is willing to work to pay for a college degree is turned away."

The MAP grant program provides students up to $4,968 to help pay for tuition. Most MAP grant students already work and take out extensive loans to pay for their education. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) awards the grants based solely on financial need.

The program was put in peril because of the State of Illinois’ unprecedented budget crisis. Like nearly all state agencies, ISAC experienced a budget cut in the compromise budget passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor. ISAC fully funded first semester grants and zeroed out second semester grants.

Senate Bill 1180 directs the governor to use part of his more than $1 billion in discretionary funding to make up for the MAP grant shortfall.

"Cutting funding to MAP grants midterm could force students to drop out of college," Maloney said. "They entered college expecting to receive this money. We need to make right on that promise."

As Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Sen. Maloney is actively working to improve Illinois’ university system. He is concerned that college costs are rising and graduation rates are dropping. He recently attended a conference on legislative means of improving graduation rates and he is sponsoring a resolution (House Joint Resolution 54) calling on the Illinois State Board of Higher Education and ISAC to thoroughly evaluate college affordability and funding.