In a continuing effort to find a Monetary Award Program grant solution, President Bill Perry and Eric Wilber, student executive vice president, attended a rally Tuesday in Chicago.

Gov. Pat Quinn hosted the rally at the University of Illinois Chicago campus, as an open forum for higher education schools in Illinois to gather and discuss alternate funding for the spring semester and future solutions.

“I know that everyone recognizes that the MAP grant funding issue is a huge problem,” Wilber said. “I think it’s just trying to come together and find a solution that works for everyone that’s the problem.”

The MAP helps more than 200,000 Illinois students pay for college. But it faces a $200 million shortfall under state budget cuts and won’t be able to fund about 140,000 low-income students in the second half of the 2009-2010 academic year.

Representatives from public, private and community colleges, including Perry and Wilber, listened to personal testimonials and Quinn’s stance on the issue.

“The governor is fully committed to finding a solution to the problem,” Wilber said.

Temporary solutions for the upcoming semester, as well as more permanent options, were provided at the meeting.

Quinn suggested several revenue enhancement options to raise money for the grant. Closing loopholes in the business income tax, increasing income taxes or proposing a cigarette tax were at least three methods discussed.

Quinn said at the rally he would restore program funding. Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Quinn’s challenger in the February primary, said the Chicago Democrat signed off on the budget cuts and was being hypocritical for trying to solve the problem now.

“How do you justify laying the blame so squarely on others even though as the governor you have had the authority all along either to push to fund the program fully, or to restore funding?” Hynes, a three-term Democratic comptroller, said in a statement Tuesday.

Both Democrat and Republican leaders have said restoring MAP funding was at the top of their agenda for a veto session next month.

Quinn dismissed Hayes’ criticism, saying he inherited a “fiscal calamity” with the budget when he took over after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached and ousted in January.

“We had certain fiscal needs that we had to attend to, for example Medicaid, group health insurance for the state of Illinois, adult education,” he told reporters after Tuesday’s rally. “There will always be ankle-biters over on the sidelines … The comptroller wasn’t part of the solution and it doesn’t appear he ever will be.”

Quinn said a cigarette tax could be a short term solution to restoring funding. Earlier this year, he proposed a $1 cigarette tax that he estimated would generate $365 million in revenue by its second year. A pared down bill won approval in the Illinois Senate but stalled in the House.

He said an income tax increase could help in the long term.

“I’m optimistic, yes,” Perry said. “At the same time as an administrator at Eastern, I’ve been working with the administrative team to plan for all eventualities.”

The meeting’s purpose was to open up the lines of communication and work out solutions, which Perry said was accomplished.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm in the room today,” Perry said. “Clearly, there is a lot of support for MAP and for the right reasons.”

Students are encouraged to attend the upcoming MAP grant rally Oct. 15 in Springfield as a way to reach their representatives.

Emily Steele can be reached at 581-7942 or easteele2@eiu.edu.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The Student Senate will hold their regular meeting at 8 p.m. today in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Up for a vote at tonight’s meeting:

– A bill asking for money for sanitation wipes in the Student Activity Center

– A bill asking for money for gift cards for the Shuttle Bus logo contest winners

– Executive rules, defining the roles of Student Government executives

– A resolution supporting the upcoming LGBT Resource center forum

From the Easel(Illustration by David Thill/The Daily Eastern News)

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