Scholarships should be brought to vote

The following editorial appeared in the (Decatur) Herald & Review on Jan. 17:

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(MCT) — This is the perfect time to end the scandal-plagued legislative scholarship program that allows lawmakers to hand out tuition waivers with few restrictions.

The time is perfect for several reasons.

First, university budgets are tight, with increasing reliance on tuition, fees and fundraising rather than state aid. It makes little sense for lawmakers to hand out tuition waivers with no money accompanying them, expecting schools and other students to, in effect, eat the costs.

Second, recognizing the problems with these unfunded waivers, many state lawmakers have ceased awarding them. Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington and former candidate for governor, announced last week that he was going to stop awarding the scholarships. Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon stopped a few years ago.

Rep. Adam Brown, R-Decatur, has decided to keep awarding them, even though he said he sees abuse in the system. “I feel as long as they are being awarded, my constituents should have as good an opportunity as any,” Brown said. “If a vote comes, I probably would vote in favor of abolishing them, based on some improprieties I’ve seen.”

Brown is echoing the same sentiment that has allowed this expensive, unnecessary and abused perk to continue. There have been moves to abolish the awarding of the scholarships for years, but each time, the issue fails to come to a vote in one chamber or the other. That fact allows politicians such as Brown to say they would “probably” oppose the scholarships, while awarding them and never having to make a real decision.

Last year is a perfect example. The General Assembly approved a bill that would have prevented awarding waivers to relatives; the fact that such a bill was needed demonstrates the problems with the program. But the measure died after House Speaker Michael Madigan refused to bring the bill up for another vote after an amendatory veto by Gov. Pat Quinn that would have ended the program.

At least 78 of the 177 members of the House and Senate have decided to suspend the program, which allows legislators to award the equivalent of two four-year scholarships to state universities. The program is unnecessary; there are plenty of opportunities for students and parents to receive financial aid.