In College in Illinois? Prepare to Lose Some Cash
MAP grant funding cut in half for next year
NBC 10
If you rely on a MAP grant, you may need to come up with a backup plan that can get you through to graduation.
Calling all Illinois college students -- your MAP grant money may be jeopardized for the upcoming school year due to the current budget scenario Illinois is facing.
There's an $11 billion budget gap, and unless there's a big intervention, state cuts will have to be made resulting in reductions in education, social services and other vital programs.
Currently, the Monetary Assistance Program grants nearly $400 million a year to Illinois students who are in pursuit of their college degrees. That money will soon be taken away if the current deficit is not filled by the 2009-2010 academic school year.
At the June 26 commission meeting at the University of Illinois at Chicago, only $161.9 million was approved for the first part of the academic year; and a 100 percent cut was passed for the second part of the academic year.
Gov. Pat Quinn says he is “fighting for the Legislature to pass a fair and balanced budget that will include much needed added revenue,” according to his Web site. But what that means in real dollars-and-cents terms remains to be seen.
Thousands of Illinois college students depend on their MAP grant money to pay for school, but unless Quinn can make some magic happen in Springfield, they may soon have to find a different source in order to stay in college.
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