Sunday, January 10, 2016

Cutbacks Continue For Illinois Service Providers During State Budget Impasse - Progress Illinois

Funding for the state's Monetary Award Program (MAP), a need-based grant program that helps low-income Illinois students pay for tuition at more than 130 local colleges and universities, is also entangled in the Springfield budget standoff. Victor Abarca, a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said his spring semester MAP grant is at risk. In an email last month from the university, Abarca said he and other MAP recipients were informed that their spring semester grant funds may not be credited to their accounts if the state does not allocate money for the program. Abarca, from Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood, said he may also have to pay back the MAP money credited to his account for the fall semester. "The MAP grant is a huge part of my financial aid," he stressed, adding that he is worried about how he will afford college if he does not get the grant funds. "I might have to drop out," Abarca said. http://progressillinois.com/posts/content/2016/01/04/illinois-service-providers-cutting-more-programs-staff-state-budget-impasse