Senate Bill 1798, sponsored by Rep. Chapin Rose, has passed in both houses.

The idea for the bill, Rose said, was given to him by the administration from Eastern. SB 1798 was put into place in order to help keep students within the state, Rose said.

The bill requires all state universities to report to the Board of Higher Education annually on certain programs that have ceased to be a help to the university. Reasons such as low enrollment or performances are why a program would have to be reported.

“It has a two-fold immediate goal: To help keep kids here in Illinois, and second, to add a little more to Eastern’s operating budget.” Rose said.

The bill provides students with financial incentives in order to allow them to be able to go to school within the state.

“We are being out-competed by other states,” Rose said. “After this, hopefully we will be able to replicate this around other schools around the state.”

According to Rose, SB 1798 will bring more money into Eastern because it provides a partial tuition waiver, not a full tuition waiver.

Rose said that Derek Markley, Eastern’s president’s assistant, did the research for the bill and that the president came to Rose with the idea.

Rose said that it is important to keep people in the state for financial and economic reasons.

“Keep(ing) people here in Illinois helps the workforce base and makes for a good pool for employers to draw from,” Rose said.

SB 1798 was filed in February and passed in both houses on May 27, according to Rose and the Illinois General Assembly website.

Although the bill was not filed until February, Rose said that he and Eastern’s president had been talking about the idea since last fall.

Melissa Sturtevant can be reached at 581-7942 or dennewsdesk@gmail.com