More corruption in Illinois: Legislative scholarships scandal

The Illinois House of Representatives has the opportunity to back up the state Senate on a bill abolishing a scholarship program that enabled legislators to provide free tuition to select students. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, called it a “political scholarship program.”

Judging by reports in the Chicago Sun-Times, “political scholarship” is a euphemism. The Better Government Association (Illinois), a group that worked with the paper to investigate the program, called it a “scholarship scam.”

Tuition waivers were awarded by legislators to children of donors, political heavyweights and the child of at least one alleged organized crime figure. Some went to children of employees of legislators.

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Illinois prepaid tuition plan lost $12 million on ‘risky’ investments

A prepaid tuition college program, College Illinois, is on shaky ground for the several reasons noted by The Chicago Tribune: “slow sales, an arguably risky investment strategy and a $300 million shortfall.”

Enter Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, who shook up the board administering the program, the Illinois Student Assistant Commission.

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