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FEBRUARY 17, 2016
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Loss of MAP grants could cost students more than money BILL LUKITSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
Abigail Tochalauski doesn’t have a dream job. She has six. “It just depends on the day,” said Tochalauski, a sophomore from Peoria studying anthropology and communication studies. In two years at the university she has picked up a second major, joined a sorority and found a parttime job that schedules her 19 hours a week. But that could all come to a halt if the state does not pass a budget that funds financial aid for higher education soon, Tochalauski said. Tochalauski is one of about 130,000 low-income students in Illinois who receive the Monetary Award Program, a need-based grant that has gone unfunded this fiscal year because of the state’s budget impasse. The MAP grant made it possible for her to go away to college after growing up with a mostly absent father and losing her mother at a young age. “The nicest thing about the MAP grant was that I didn’t have to think about it,” she said. “It allows people who wouldn’t normally do such crazy things as go to college ... not worry about it.” After Tochlauski’s parents split up in 2002, her father was not consistently in her life and living in a single-parent home was trying. Receiving government food assistance benefits, shopping for clothes in consignment stores and living in subsidized housing made her feel ashamed, she said. “It was never something you wanted
to talk about,” Tochalauski said. Tochalauski was 11 years old when her mom abruptly died of an enlarged heart at age 31. Tochalauski’s family was further fractured, and her living situation became tumultuous. She lived with her mother’s boyfriend until sophomore year of high school before moving in with her grandparents. “It was rough,” she said. “I’m the type of person, though, that shuts it down and doesn’t deal with it.” After graduation from Richwoods High School, SIU was one of the more affordable options because she received an enticing financial aid package. Coming to Carbondale meant a fresh start where she could learn to be financially independent, meet new friends and reinvent herself, Tochalauski said. “Not being at home means I don’t have to walk on eggshells, which is nice,” she said. Most Republican and Democratic leaders have said they support funding for higher education but remain divided on how much public universities should receive in fiscal year 2016. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vowed to veto a partial spending bill to fund MAP grants and operational costs at community colleges that passed the Illinois General Assembly last month. Democratic Senate President John Cullerton announced last month the Illinois Senate would stall the bill so Rauner could reconsider his veto promise. Please see MAP | 2
Photo provided by Abigail Tochalauski
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VOL. 100 ISSUE 48
Wrestling the fire within
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms Nick Green, a senior from Annawan studying physical education, wrestles Drew Tremper, a junior from Indianapolis studying chemistry, during SIU Wrestling Club’s training session Tuesday at the Recreation Center. Though the club began last fall, Tremper has been wrestling for eight years. “When you’re out there, you’re putting your will out there,” Tremper said. “Your competitor’s putting their will out there and you’re just going at it. You just feel this fire inside you and it’s like when you’re down, you just gotta get back up.” Tremper said wrestling has helped him develop the confidence to overcome adversity in everyday life. The club hopes to compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association next year.
State budget glance: Revenue down, spending up and no end in sight REBOOT ILLINOIS
Gov. Bruce Rauner delivers his 2016 Budget Address on Wednesday. He’s in an awkward situation: The Budget Address is intended as a preview of the Illinois state budget for fiscal year 2017, which starts July 1. State government has yet to adopt a budget for FY 2016, which started last July 1. Making matters worse, without a budget to cut spending or raise more revenue, state government since July 1 has been spending far more than it’s taking in. Taxpayers will have to make up the difference whenever Rauner and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly pass a budget. The longer the current budget impasse continues, the bigger the hit on taxpayers will be. And with indications now that all sides are squeamish about voting on any tax increases before the Nov. 4 elections, we could be well into FY 2017 before we even begin to pay down the state’s debts of FY 2016. Here’s a quick look at how things
stand as Rauner delivers his second Budget Address without having signed his first budget. The Illinois Constitution requires that the governor and General Assembly pass a budget by May 31. If they fail to do so, a three-fifths majority vote of the General Assembly is required for passage. As budget talks began in spring 2015, the state forecast $32 billion in revenue for FY 2016. Maintaining state services at FY 2015 levels would require $38 billion. Rauner proposed a budget containing heavy cuts and no tax increases to end FY 2016 with surplus of $505 million. Democrats passed a budget that ended the year with a deficit the administration estimated at $4 billion. Rauner vetoed all but one of the 20 budget bills (he signed legislation to fund elementary and secondary education, ensuring that schools statewide would open on time), saying he wouldn’t discuss the budget until Democrats pass some of the business and political reforms contained in his Illinois Turnaround agenda. Democrats
have refused to do so. In theory, the Illinois Constitution says state government can’t spend money unless there is a balanced budget to authorize that spending. That means government should have all but shut down as of July 1, with most state employees not receiving paychecks as of that date. In practice, Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, backed by the administration and unions, sought and received a court order authorizing payment of state employees for the duration of the budget impasse. Court orders have forced the state to continue roughly 90 percent of its FY 2015 spending. Thus the state is on pace to overspend by $4.6 billion by June 30. The state could end the year with more than $9 billion in unpaid bills. Illinois public colleges and universities have received no funding since July 1. To read more, please see www. dailyegyptian.com