Sullivan, Gaffney forgo awarding legislative scholarships

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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:13AM

Citing concerns over the state budget situation, two state representatives have decided to turn down the Illinois General Assembly Legislative Scholarship program this year.

State representatives Ed Sullivan, R-51st, of Mundelein, and Kent Gaffney, R-52nd, of Lake Barrington, announced they will not be awarding the tuition-waiver college scholarships. Under the General Assembly Scholarship program, legislators have the ability to award up to eight one-year scholarships to college-bound students in their districts, covering tuition at state universities.

“With the dramatic problems Illinois is having with its budget, I’ve have decided to forgo the legislative scholarship program this year,” said Sullivan. “It was certainly a difficult decision to make, but the General Assembly is going to be faced with many difficult decisions in the coming year.”

Sullivan had previously participated in the legislative scholarship program every year since he was elected to the General Assembly in 2003 and said many worthy students have received scholarships as a result of the program. However, he said he’s concerned about the state’s growing budget shortfall and the rising costs of college tuition. He said universities do not get reimbursed from the state for the scholarships and must pay for them out of their own budgets, driving up the cost of tuition.

‘Unfunded mandate’

“There’s not a line item in our budget to reimburse the colleges for these scholarships,” he said. “It’s an unfunded mandate.”

In 2011, 1,327 tuition waivers were awarded in Illinois, costing the state approximately $13.5 million, according to Sullivan. Since 2003, he said the average cost of tuition at the University of Illinois has more than doubled.

Sullivan said he’s received about a dozen e-mails from residents so far about his decision to forgo the scholarships.

“The feedback I’ve gotten from my constituents has all been positive,” he said. “Just about everybody understands the difficult problem the state is having paying its bills.”

Gaffney, who was appointed to the legislator in July following the death of State Rep. Mark Beaubien, said he had received phone calls from a number of families who were wondering if he was going to be awarding college scholarships through the program. After careful consideration, Gaffney said he decided it was it was not the right time to award the scholarships.

“I’m sure there are families that are disappointed and I understand that,” he said. “My decision not to give the scholarships is based on concerns over the fiscal situation of the state.”

State Rep. Carol Sente, D-59th, of Vernon Hills, said she has not participated in the legislative scholarship program since she joined the legislature in 2009.

“My feeling is it’s a tuition waiver; it’s not a scholarship,” said Sente, noting that the costs of the program are borne by the universities and not directly funded by the state.

“I want to provide support to the constituents but not on the backs of the institutions,” she said.

State Sen. Terry Link, D-30th, of Waukegan, has participated in the scholarship program in the past and his office said he will be offering the program again this year.