Sen. Brady: New law ends legislative scholarships

[July 12, 2012]  SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois' controversial legislative scholarship program has been eliminated, according to state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington. House Bill 3810, which ends the century-old program, was approved by lawmakers in May and signed by the governor on Wednesday.

Brady was a co-sponsor of the legislation.

"I was one of the first lawmakers to call for eliminating the scholarship program, and in recent years have sponsored several bills addressing that issue, including House Bill 3810," Brady said. "The other bills were never allowed a vote, but Democrat leaders finally agreed the program must be ended."

In recent years, the media uncovered reports of program abuses, including allegations that lawmakers awarded the scholarships to friends, lobbyists, campaign donors or students outside their districts.

Brady said a panel of community and education leaders was responsible for evaluating applications and selecting the recipients of the legislative scholarships awarded by his office over the years.

The 44th District senator also noted that the state did not reimburse the state's universities for the cost of the program, which totaled more than $13 million per year. Instead, the costs were passed on to other students in higher tuition and fees.

Brady and his Senate Republican colleagues quit participating in the legislative scholarship program early this year.

[Text from file sent on behalf of Sen. Bill Brady by Illinois Senate Republican staff]