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More legislators opt out of scholarship program

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Illinois

* A growing number of House and Senate members are opting out of the legislative scholarship program…

State Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D-Joliet, has joined the growing ranks of Illinois legislators dropping out of the Legislative Tuition Waiver Program.

The program lets legislators waive state college tuition for selected students in their districts but has become increasing controversial amid exposure of abuses. The numbers of senators and representatives opting not to participate approached half of the state Legislature in 2011 and could grow this year.

“I think it’s going to be much more widespread to the point that we might eliminate (the program) legislatively,” Wilhelmi said Monday.

“The problems of the program outweigh its benefits,” Wilhelmi said.

Wilhelmi awarded a waiver to a nephew of Will County Executive Larry Walsh, an issue raised by the state senator’s opponent in his last election campaign. Wilhelmi, however, said his waivers were based in large part on financial need. There is no requirement that waiver recipients show need.

In 2011, 26 state senators and 51 state representatives chose not to participate, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

* And two Lake County Republicans also opted out this week…

In a joint news release, Republicans Ed Sullivan of Mundelein and Kent Gaffney of Lake Barrington called the program “an unfunded mandate” that adds strain to Illinois’ already stressed finances. ]…]

Last year, prosecutors subpoenaed records regarding scholarships that former lawmaker Robert Molaro, a Chicago Democrat, gave to a supporter’s children who might not have lived in his district.

Sullivan denied any such favoritism in his prior scholarship awards. Applications are considered by a committee that did not know the students’ names, sexes or hometowns, he insisted.

“I’ve always had a blind process,” he said in an interview.

* And the public pressure is increasing…

State Rep. Jason Barickman, R-Champaign, is calling for an end to the state’s legislative scholarship program.

A number of lawmakers have stopped handing out the awards after reports that some tuition waivers were being given to legislators’ relatives, campaign donors or students who weren’t even eligible for the money.

Barickman said the scholarships are costing Illinois about $14 million a year in lost tuition, including about $3 million to Illinois State University. […]

“The fact that nearly 200 legislators are given the opportunity with absolutely no discretion to give scholarships to people who live in their districts, to me is ridiculous,” Barickman said. “We’re policymakers, not kingmakers.”

Only a few voters will cast their ballots based on this one, single issue, but the Democratic majority needs to do things this year like abolishing the program. Tax hikes, fee hikes, budget cuts, pension problems, scandals galore. They need to at least look like they’re trying to clean up the mess.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 9:47 am

Comments

Elimination is long overdue.

Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 9:50 am
By the way, “walkinfool” has expired.

I will be doing his commenting from now on. (schnorf’s good example)

Comment by mark walker Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:00 am
LOL, it’s wonderful to see some GA members discover a sense of outrage on this issue — now that the federales are asking questions.

As a public service to those involved in this hot mess, let’s not forget: lying to the FBI is a felony. And oftentimes, they determine what is a lie or not.

Eliminating this medieval perk is a no-brainer; get on the train, it’s leaving soon.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:00 am
The whole program needs to end. People who run for legislative offices against an incumbent ought to use information about the incumbent’s history with the legislative scholarships in their campaigns.

Comment by Aldyth Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:07 am
“…the Democratic majority needs to do things this year like abolishing the program.”

Yes, they need to. But they won’t. Hubris, tin ears, vanity, sense of entitlement, greed, contempt - collective characteristics by a group that sees little chance of losing power any time soon.

Comment by phocion Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:12 am
Elimination is a logical step, however this could have been handled a different way.

The process could have been handed off to a ‘non-affiliated’ group of some sort who would hold a competition essay, lottery etc. for families who are below an economic threshold.

Simply taking the ball and going home because some members abused the privilege does take away an opportunity for the poor to middle income families.

Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:12 am
Not only is it an unfunded mandate, but it’s also not equally applied. The perception is that this is state money directly applied to the scholarships. It’s actually a mandate for the specific university to waive that student’s tuition. So if all the scholarships one year for students going to the U of I system, then U of I would bear all the cost that year, and none of the burden would be on any other university.

Comment by muon Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:15 am
–Simply taking the ball and going home because some members abused the privilege does take away an opportunity for the poor to middle income families.–

Pluto, I sympathize with where you’re coming from, but I think its better to systemically improve access to our public universities, rather than grant royal waivers.

Put it this way — it ain’t easy for a kid from Illinois who does well and plays by the rules to get into the University of Illinois anymore. It should be automatic.

We should all wrap our heads around the fact that those who came before us created a higher education system that is the envy of the world, and that for a relatively small investment we can reap incredible returns to maintain it as such.

I’ve been out of school since Reagan, but I’ve been on the university recruiting tour the last couple of years, and I’ve been happily reminded how the schools — large and small, public and private — are our bread and butter.

The students from other countries know it. They break their backs to get access to what we take for granted. Morning, noon and night, they’re in the student unions cracking the books.

Public, private, community colleges, we have the infrastructure, let’s just make it more relevant and accessible, not just for the kids, but for lifetime learning for all of us in our wildly changing world. Money well spent.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:32 am
I believe that Chairman Kennedy should eliminate the tuition weaver currently available to employees of the University of Illinois. As an employee of the U of I their children attend the university with limited tuition. This is a supersavings to the state of Illinois. Let’s get the opinion of legislators.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:57 am
Outside this blog and springfield how many people actually know of this program or scandal surrounding it? How many incumbents were defeated because of it?

Getting rid of it is not a game changer.

Comment by Shore Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 10:59 am
As more legislators drop out, those left supporting the program will have a harder time justifying it.

Giving away scholarships as some kind of gift is wrong, there are better ways to help the less fortunate achieve a higher education.

Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:01 am
Chairman Kennedy at the University of Illinois can assist the state in reducing their budget by the tuition weaver that family of U of I are allowed as a result in their employment. Employees of of State Government are required to pay taxes. This initiative should be led by the University of Illinois as the flag ship university. Let’s get some legislative support it would save the state big dollars. Please ask the Chairman to find a sponsor for this cost cutting initiative.

Comment by Just Me Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:07 am
It is my understanding that each legislator can give out 8 1-year awards. If they won’t abolish it, how about reducing it to 4 1-year awards? That will cut the cost in half.

Comment by Mike O'Malley Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:16 am
As someone who works for a (private) university, getting rid of the waiver (not weaver, waiver) for employees and their families would be taking away a huge reason to work at a university if you are support staff. I have several younger, lower level admin types working in my department and going to school here. They’d be working elsewhere and making more money if the university charged them full tuition. I have other coworkers who are currently earning second masters degrees for the same reason–it’s a lot cheaper to do so while working here. I can’t imagine working for a state school and making what I do, taking the 10 days off without pay this year, probably not getting the pension I’ve been promised, and having to pay full tuition. It just wouldn’t be worth it to me to work there.

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:19 am
Frustrating it’s taken so long for this to start getting some real traction (despite all the coverage in recent years). Now let’s see if they make it happen.

Comment by Shock & Awww(e) Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:23 am
I’m still not sure if I’m convinced that this is a horrible program. It’s given out to some kids who really need it and otherwise couldn’t go to college. That’s not to say there aren’t legislators who abuse it, but I think people love to see bad media over good media and ignore the good things that are happening with it too.

I really don’t think it’s fair to see a State Rep or Senator who has given our dozens of these scholarships, but one student who may have had an old drivers license address or, worse, even lied to the legislator about his/her residency suddenly makes that elected official a criminal and corrupt and is guilty of some sort of scandal.

Is it given out to donor or connected families? Yes. But it’s also given out to a lot of students who need it too.

Laws are made by the influence of donor and connected people too. Should we abolish the system in which laws are made as well?

There will be elected officials who give it out to people who don’t deserve it, but I think I give the benefit of the doubt to a lot of them who just want to help.

Comment by northernIL Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:33 am
–I’m still not sure if I’m convinced that this is a horrible program. It’s given out to some kids who really need it and otherwise couldn’t go to college.–

Give me a break. If access to public universities is a priority, and I think it is, Illinois legislators, should be working their tails off to ensure access for all citizens, not just the blessed few they deign to grant waivers.

It’s a grotesque baronial perk they granted themselves long ago and it needs to go.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:38 am
It’s not so much saving the money, as changing the culture of legislative prerogatives. Why should any elected official feel they individually have the right to “give out” anything? They are not lords and ladies, but servants.

Let the financial aid professionals at the universitites do their jobs, without any politician intruding in the process.

Comment by mark walker Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:42 am
“universities” sorry

Comment by mark walker Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:43 am
I was happy to hear that Senator Wilhelmi found religion on this subject. Once the feds get involved, it seems that everybody gets nervous and suddenly “see the light and are born again”.

Comment by Wilson Pickett Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:44 am
Looking at the actual numbers, as reported by the Board of Higher Ed, GA tuition waivers make up about $13.5 million statewide. For the most part, it is equally distributed across the board. If the numbers are broken down among the TOTAL number of waivers given out by a school, GA accounts for less than 3% of the cost all tuition waivers state-wide. GA waivers are a drop in the bucket, for the universities, who award a total of $412 million in waivers each academic year. Take a look at the program in full perspective, and this is really an issue blown completely out of proportion.

Comment by NIref Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:49 am
–Take a look at the program in full perspective, and this is really an issue blown completely out of proportion.–

From the full perspective of parents and kids working second jobs, taking huge loans or going without to pay for school, it’s a disgrace.

I don’t think the “blown out of proportion” argument is going to work with Fitz, either.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:55 am
Wordslinger is absolutely right. Baronial is a great word. I get the same feelings when I talk to people about tax breaks and subsidies. Both programs are antithetical to an egalitarian, open, and fair system of treating individual people.

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 11:56 am
–Simply taking the ball and going home because some members abused the privilege does take away an opportunity for the poor to middle income families.–

I was a lower middle class kid and took out student loans for college because my parents could not afford to pay any of my tuition. Why can’t the scholarship recipients do that? Sure it’s nice to graduate without debt, but few students are able to do that and the taxpayers cannot afford to bestow that windfall, especially when many are still paying their own student loans back.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 12:12 pm
Then wordslinger why aren’t you on here hootin and hollerin about unequal access to education and a free university system in the state of Illinois instead of talking about a few bad apple scholarships?

I’ve talked to several electeds about this issue in very candid conversations, and they all say the same thing: It’s crap that there are those who give the scholarships in a way that brings such bad attention to the program, but there’s certainly no attempt to give it to people on their part who live outside of the district.

Overall, I think a lot of them want to do the right thing with this.

Comment by northernIL Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 12:17 pm
==I think a lot of them want to do the right thing with this.==

But, the fact that many can and will do the wrong thing is why this program has to go.

Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 12:21 pm
==It’s a grotesque baronial perk ==

A perfect description, Word.

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 12:50 pm
If you think your elected official is doing the wrong thing with those scholarships, then vote them out. Don’t blame a program helping kids go to college.

Comment by northernIL Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 1:00 pm
–Then wordslinger why aren’t you on here hootin and hollerin about unequal access to education and a free university system in the state of Illinois instead of talking about a few bad apple scholarships?–

Gee, and I thought that was the whole point of what I was talking about.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 1:06 pm
This won’t be repealed until after the next elections, so losing legisltors have a bargaining chip for new employment or at least have a reward for loyal toadies. Free tickets to a world class university system is a powerful bargaining chip. Just follow the “What’s in it for me” Illinois government thought process.

Comment by Cook County Commoner Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 1:41 pm
If there is a need for need-based grants to make college accessible to persons who couldn’t otherwise afford it, shouldn’t those decisions be made by a college financial aid office, not a legislator (even he/she “hides” behind a committee he/she picks to make the decisions)? What possible justification is there for putting those decisions in the hands of elected officials?

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 1:42 pm
-I’m still not sure if I’m convinced that this is a horrible program. It’s given out to some kids who really need it and otherwise couldn’t go to college. -

What is the basis to believe the program allows those who otherwise couldn’t go to college to go? Low income is not in the listed requirements on the IBHE website. In fact, by spreading the cost of this program across all public universities, the program makes college marginally more expensive for everyone. Does anyone really believe that a legislator is in the best position to decide who is deserving of a free ride to college? Or that politics plays no role? Maybe and only maybe if their so called committees who assist the legislator in deciding who gets one reviewed applications without names, then perhaps politics would play little or no role. But why run the risk? Call it The Last Temptation of Christ(ine) Radagno. I’m sure they have objectively more important things to do than worry about if all their contributor’s children have been suitably rewarded.

Comment by Tommydanger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 1:43 pm
It is nice that Representative Pihos decides now to opt-out after giving the scholarships to DuPage County Board Commissioner JR McBride’s kids.

Comment by Gross Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 2:19 pm
In all fairness, Leader Radogno does not award scholarships, and was among the first people, along with Sen. Dillard (who also does not award them and is the Senate Sponsor of their abolishment), to applaud Quinn’s amendatory veto abolishing the scholarships.

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 2:27 pm
Cincinnatus-

As to Radagno, agreed. It just sounded better than The Last Temptation of Pritchard, my Rep. I asked Rich if there was a link or listing of all who have opted out and was informed he had none. If anyone has one, please pass it along.

Comment by Tommydanger Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 2:56 pm
I don’t disagee at all with elimnating the legislative scholarships program, but the state funded universities can’t talk out of both sides of their mouth and continue to give university employees drastically reduced tuition and a pretty much free pass on qualifications of those folks to get into the school to begin with.

If you recall when all of this first broke, a number of univisity officials cried foul in that they felt undue pressure to accept a student who might not be qualified, but that’s okay if it’s a university employees family….just saying

Comment by Cincinnatus Jr Tuesday, Jan 10, 12 @ 3:31 pm