Posts Tagged ‘ universities ’

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) plans to reform or possibly abolish the General Assembly scholarship program when the legislature returns to Springfield in January. “We don’t know what those reforms could be. It could be anything from streamlining the process, creating a uniform process, or it could be complete abolishment. But we’re not going...
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The millions of dollars in scholarships Illinois lawmakers hand out each year to high school graduates in their districts could be better spent on students who couldn’t otherwise afford to go to college, higher education experts say. They recommend the General Assembly scholarships be used to target the state’s poorest students. Zakiya Smith, policy adviser...
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Efforts to abolish the century-old Illinois General Assembly scholarship program have proven unsuccessful in the past, but outside of eliminating it altogether, higher education and financial aid experts say there are ways to improve it. They recommend a number of changes, from developing a consistent set of standards in choosing the winners to lawmakers being...
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Five Illinois lawmakers require students applying for a legislative scholarship to register to vote – a requirement that some experts say is inappropriate and discriminatory. John Whitehead, president of the Virginia-based The Rutherford Institute, said lawmakers who require applicants vying for Illinois General Assembly scholarships to register are discriminating against students whose religious beliefs prevent...
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Marcie Gutierrez, a teacher at John Hay Elementary on Chicago’s West Side, wanted help paying for school when she attended the University of Illinois at Chicago to further her education. So she applied for a legislative scholarship from Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago), whose district includes her school. Gutierrez, however, didn’t live in Ford’s district. Illinois’ General...
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Gretchen Watson got an undergraduate degree and her master’s, too, thanks to the Illinois General Assembly scholarship program. For seven years, Watson, now an elementary school teacher, didn’t have to worry about tuition bills at Northeastern University. Mary Kate McLoughlin, the daughter of a Chicago precinct captain who works for state comptroller Dan Hynes and...
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Someone has to pay for the millions of dollars in scholarships state legislators dole out each year – and that ends up being the rest of the students who attend Illinois’ public universities. For the 2007-2008 school year – the most recent data available – the state’s public universities gave 1,509 legislative scholarships worth an...
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The Illinois General Assembly scholarship doesn’t work like other scholarships. Some students win it because they have the right connections. Others don’t face much competition for the award – a year of free tuition at one of 12 public universities in Illinois. And several recipients don’t even meet the one requirement of the state’s century-old...
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The phone calls started Sept. 15. The journalist wanted to know how Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) selects students in her Bronzeville district to receive free tuition at 12 Illinois universities. A team of Columbia College Chicago reporters, in collaboration with Illinois Statehouse News, contacted the offices of all 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly to...
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The Illinois General Assembly scholarships have become a family affair for dozens of siblings who’ve secured tens of thousands of dollars in free tuition to the state’s public universities since 2003. There’s just one main requirement in the century-old state law that created the legislative scholarship program: Applicants must live in the awarding lawmaker’s district....
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