Illinois State board approves major cuts to student financial aid - Peter Sachs, Chi-Town Daily News

At a meeting where participants turned tearful at times this morning, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission voted to eliminate a key financial aid program for the spring 2010 term in response to the state budget crisis. In addition, the commission voted to cut funding for students already approved for fall grants. Some 137,000 students across the state, including tens of thousands in Chicago, will get need-based grants this fall, but at a rate of only about $850 for every $1,000 originally promised. The cuts in the Monetary Assistance Program are one of the first changes as a result of the doomsday budget approved by the state legislature last month.