Lisa Castillo Richmond, PCC Managing Director and Kyle Westbrook, Ph.D., PCC Executive Director | February 18, 2021
This week’s budget news represents some cause for relief for higher education — a relatively ‘good news’ scenario considering the impacts of the pandemic, following increased investments in the sector by way of last year’s budget after years of state-level impasse and neglect. This year’s proposed budget includes a $28 million increase in funding for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) — the state’s need-based financial aid program — a fully-met pension obligation, and otherwise flat funding for colleges and universities. During yesterday’s budget address, the Governor rightly framed MAP as among his most pressing priorities, as college affordability was an issue in Illinois long before the pandemic added further financial hardship for students and their families.
Read the full blog at PCC’s Medium page.