SPRINGFIELD – Nearly 100 students from Illinois colleges joined State Senator Laura Murphy (D-Des Plaines) and other legislators today to deliver Senate Bill 2043 to Governor Rauner. The legislation, which recently passed the Senate and House with large majorities, provides funding for Monetary Award Program grants, or MAP grants.  

“Today, I stand with the 1,900 students in the 28th district who have so far been abandoned this year because of the lack of funding for MAP grants,” said Murphy. “Eliminating these funds is short-sighted and will have a long term impact on our state economy.”
The grants are given to low and middle-income students to allow them to pay for the growing cost of higher education. Due to a veto last spring by Governor Rauner, nearly 120,000 students face uncertainty about their future.

While many colleges and four-year universities have been able to continue to provide funding for students during the fall semester, nearly 1,000 students were unable to return to school this year as many schools ran out of funds.

Previously, the governor had committed to vetoing the funds for the students. However, the governor and his staff did not comment on the bill when it was delivered.

“The governor has already shown a commitment to funding education. I strongly encourage him to continue to invest in our future workforce by funding MAP grants,” said Murphy.