THE ISSUE
Gov. Pat Quinn says the state will take out a $900 million loan to infuse money back into a student-aid program, among other items.
OUR VIEW
Illinois is having a difficult time paying off the debt it has already incurred. Why pile on another huge loan?
SPEAK UP
Despite its best intentions, should the state take out this loan? Tell us what you think of this by leaving a comment below. You can also e-mail your comment here. Or leave a voice message at (630) 368-8882.
With the questionable decisions that state officials make, we have to wonder if they recall anything from their Econ 101 class.
Their lack of understanding about certain basic principles presented in the college course is affecting the lives of students who signed up for a variety of other classes. Over the summer, the Illinois General Assembly cut in half the $400 million Monetary Award Program, which helps low-income college students.
The loss of this money threatened the 167,000 students who use the program. Many of them would lose revenue for the upcoming spring semester at college — money that had already been pledged to them.
This had the potential of affecting not only students but also the colleges they attend. Elmhurst College, for example, has about 800 students who receive money through MAP.
But what the legislative branch taketh away, the executive branches giveth back. Gov. Pat Quinn recently announced that the state would take out a $900 million loan.
Of that amount, $205 million will be allocated toward MAP funding. An additional $250 million will go toward Medicaid, with $445 million going toward a backlog of miscellaneous bills owed by the state.
It would be easy to praise the governor for saving many students from such a financial loss — except that such praise would overlook the unnerving prospect that Quinn intends to add nearly $1 billion more to the state’s debt when it’s having such a problem paying back what it already owes.
How does Quinn believe this money will be repaid? Or will he not concern himself with this minor detail until the payments are due?
The state must live up to its obligations for this school year from a reliable funding source. But it’s irresponsible for officials to pile up more debt when they can’t resolve the budget problems we have.
MAP is a good program that benefits many students, but Quinn should not continue pushing along a massive deficit just to look like a hero. His predecessor did this. Look where it got him.
