Illinois has been without a state budget since July 1, which has the potential to create massive problems for college students in both private and public universities.
Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant funding is awarded to students on the basis of financial need and is something students do not pay back. However, MAP funding is stalled this academic year because the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Bruce Rauner have not approved a state budget, and they have been at this impasse for more than seven months.
Last year, Illinois dedicated $373 million to the MAP grant funding, giving aid to nearly 125,000 students, about 1,000 of whom are Bradley students.
Currently, Bradley is still giving students an aid package equal to the MAP grant funds, but it’s unlikely the university will be able to continue crediting the money without any guarantee of repayment from the state government. They are already acting in good-faith by crediting students the MAP grant funds this year.
The Illinois General Assembly passed a senate bill Jan. 24 that would restore funds to the MAP grant despite the ongoing budget impasse. However, the bill is still sitting on Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s desk, and he is likely to veto it.
The budget impasse resulted from the inability of the republican governor and the democratic majority in both chambers of the state legislature to compromise.
Bradley as a school won’t suffer heavily from this budget impasse because it is privately funded. However, many state and publicly-funded schools are suffering from the lack of resources. Not-for-profit agencies and social service organization are hit the hardest. Services that are deemed most vital are still being funded, such as public education spending, state workers salaries, DMV offices and state parks.
While the MAP grant is a small portion of the overall tuition package, it can make it or break it for financially-needy students. Students’ educational futures should not be held in jeopardy because of lawmakers’ inability to come to an agreement.
This refusal to compromise on the part of lawmakers hurts students and our country as a whole because we will be losing future educated leaders.
Students have various avenues to contact their state legislators. For one, Bradley has planned a student trip to Springfield Tuesday, Feb. 16, to voice concerns to legislation. We as students are affected by this political struggle, and because the current politicians seem unable to listen, we must ensure they understand our need to access education.
