Springfield– State Senator Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), who stopped awarding legislative scholarships earlier this year, praised the governor’s decision to sign a new law that ends the program permanently. Koehler issued the following statement:

“Over the past two years, we’ve been forced to cut spending in almost every area, including higher education. We really need to focus on our priorities. Helping students afford school is extremely important, but we need to concentrate our efforts on need-based financial aid programs like MAP grants. We can no longer afford programs that don’t help lower the cost of tuition for everyone.”