SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A state legislator says the state can no longer afford half-price tuition for the children of state university employees.

The employees, perhaps naturally, disagree.

State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, said it was only with reluctance he sponsored House Bill 403, which would end half-price tuition for the children of university employees with seven years or more service.

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“It doesn’t make me happy,” he said. “I don’t relish in doing it, but the fact is the governor’s latest proposal for the budget cuts higher education by over $300 million, and this perk — which has been around for a while, granted — costs the universities almost $10 million a year,” Franks said.

“And it’s a perk based solely on the fact that their parents work at the university,” Franks said. “I wish we could afford it, but we can’t.”

Illinois News Network’s calls to university unions were not returned, but the University Professionals of Illinois wrote its members urging them to oppose the bill.

In its email, the union argues the waivers help keep Illinois kids in Illinois schools and help attract and retain quality faculty and staff.

Further, it says the tuition waivers are an agreement between the state and the employees and should not be unilaterally discarded.

But it’s the union argument that the half-price tuition for about 2,200 students doesn’t really cost the state any money that raises Franks’ ire.

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“That’s ridiculous,” Franks said. “To say there’s somehow not any cost savings is tantamount to lunacy.”

The universities may not have to spend cash to educate students at half price, critics of unreimbursed waivers say, but providing full services at half-off is still a state outlay or an expense.

Ultimately, Franks said, the perk to state university employees is simply unfair to taxpayers who fund the universities but can’t avail themselves of the same deal.

Franks said he’d give opponents a chance to present alternatives to the House committee on state government administration, which he chairs.

“If they have some ideas they’d like to present, I say, ‘Please do,’” but simply saying ‘no’ is not good enough,” he said.

State Rep. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine, a committee member, said he’s leaning in favor of the bill but wants to hear a full discussion before casting his vote.

State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, also a committee member, said he’s favorable to the bill’s goal given the state’s fiscal crisis but wants to review an analysis on its projected impact before voting.

Authored by Mark Fitton
Originally published here

Published with permission