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After years of pushing legislation to end the controversial and scandal-prone
"Legislative Scholarship Program," Senate Republicans have decided to
unanimously walk away from the program voluntarily.
The action drew quick editorial applause from the state's largest newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, which wrote: "Republicans in the
Illinois Senate are voluntarily suspending their participation in the tuition
waiver program that has brought so much dishonor — and so much dishonorable
conduct — to the General Assembly. We applaud Minority Leader Christine Radogno
for securing commitments that all 24 members of her caucus won't award waivers
for the 2012-13 school year"
The Newspaper then chided the Democrat leaders of the legislature for their
refusal to end the program, pointing out the the Senate Republican action "raises an obvious question for Democratic legislators...What,
exactly, is your problem? Do you think citizens by the millions haven't learned
what a rip-off you're perpetuating?"
Senator Radogno and other Senate Republicans have consistently sponsored
legislation to end the program. As recently as last fall, a measure that would
have ended the program was blocked by the Democrat leadership.
The program allows legislators to grant free tuition waivers to students at
public universities in Illinois. There are no academic standards or requirements
that the scholarships be based on need. One problem with the program is that the
scholarships are not paid for by the legislature, but simply require the
universities to waive the tuition costs. Since the universities receive no
financial support for the program, costs are passed on to other students.
In the past the program has been plagued by revelations that some legislators
have awarded the waivers to relatives, political allies and campaign
contributors. While many legislators took steps individually to avoid conflicts
– many handed over the awarding of scholarships to independent committees – not
all did so and individual abuses continue to surface.
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