By HOLLY WAGNER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Illinois legislative leaders say they have agreed to come up with money to fund the Monetary Award Program or MAP grants for spring semester.
Lawmakers emerging from a meeting Wednesday with Gov. Pat Quinn said they agreed to appropriate an extra $200 million for the college financial aid program. But they said they haven't figured out where to get the money.
Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, called MAP funding "the No. 1 priority" coming into the veto session.
"Now we're in the process or at least have an agreement of how we can get to that point," Sullivan said.
Quinn signed a budget in July that provided only about half of the $440 million needed to fund MAP. The funding paid for MAP grants for fall semester, but about 137,000 students were told there would be no MAP funds for spring semester.
The Legislature gave Quinn $1.2 billion in discretionary spending at that time, but he did not use any of that for MAP. Yet Quinn held rallies around the state to raise awareness of the importance of restoring the funding the program, including one last week at John Wood Community College in Quincy.
About 18 percent of JWCC students were affected by the loss of MAP funds.
"We're very pleased," JWCC President Tom Klincar said today. "The Legislature has found a way to continue making education available to those who need it most, and that's exactly what community colleges are all about and that's exactly the students that community colleges serve."
Kevin Brown, director of financial aid at Quincy University, said the school hopes the Legislature "continues to hold on-going discussions regarding the state's financial aid program during the veto session and remain hopeful that legislators will deliver on their promise to restore MAP funding."
Ann O'Sullivan, assistant dean of Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing, said the MAP funding was very good news for all college students, especially nursing students, relative to health care in the area. She said about 90 percent of Blessing-Rieman students rely on MAP funding.
Quinn supports a $1-a-pack increase in the state cigarette tax to provide more money for MAP. Another option would be closing loopholes in the state tax code and looking at revenues from income tax, Quinn said during his stop in Quincy last week.
Republicans favor a tax amnesty period for the first six weeks of 2010 that would raise about half what is needed to cover the MAP grants. Lawmakers will have to come to a decision in the next two weeks, allowing just enough time for students to make plans for next semester.
Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, acknowledged it will be next spring before lawmakers determine how to pay for the program.
The Associated Press contributed information for this story.
-- hwagner@whig.com/221-3374
