Cunningham pushes measure to expand uses of College Savings Plan

• college affordability
• SB1758
• State Treasurer

SPRINGFIELD – College students needing to buy a new computer for school use or who utilize special needs services could soon be able use their Illinois’ College Savings Plan to do so due to a measure being pushed by State Senator Bill Cunningham and State Treasurer Michael Frerichs.

“In today’s society every college student needs a computer to even think about succeeding in college,” Cunningham said. “It is just as necessary as textbooks.”

The measure, Senate Bill 1758, would add computers and other technology based expenses to the definition of qualified expenses for the purposes of one’s Illinois’ College Savings Plan. Expenses from special needs services connected with enrollment or attendance would also be defined as qualified expenses.

“It is unfair for a college or university to put extra cost requirements on a student with special needs to successfully attend and then the state rejects the student’s ability to use their Bright Start Account to pay for those required expenses,” Cunningham said.

The measure was passed out of the Senate’s State Government committee on Wednesday and moves to the full Senate for final passage.

Cunningham: Higher Education cut to the bone already

• higher education
• budget
• FY2018

SPRINGFIELD – On Tuesday, the Senate Higher Education Committee heard testimony on the governor’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year. The testimony showed that higher education has been irreparably damaged because of the budget impasse.

“Universities and community colleges have been cut to the bone because of the games being played in Springfield,” State Senator Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) said. “Yet the governor blocked the so-called grand bargain legislation that would have paved a path for a balanced budget.”

When asked what universities could afford to cut, many universities said there is nothing left. If the governor’s proposal for fiscal year 2018 is realized, state universities will have seen a 42 percent cut to their funding since 2015, when the governor took office.

“We need a budget that properly funds higher education so that we can start to repair the damage done by the governor’s failure to propose a balanced budget,” Cunningham said.

Services for the developmentally disabled threatened by budget impasse

• 2017
• Budget Impasse
• Sertoma Centre

Stories pop up every day all across Illinois about the effects of the budget impasse. Those stories range from facility closures to students who may be on the hook for thousands of dollars for their education. One story in the 18th District shows that the developmentally disabled are especially at risk during the budget impasse.

“Sertoma Centre is just one example of the crisis that the state is facing,” Senator Bill Cunningham said. “We need real governing to ensure that we can end this fiscal crisis that is doing real harm to our community.”

Sertoma Centre has been open in the Alsip area since 1971. The group was created to provide opportunities that empower individuals with disabilities to achieve success. The group serves over 200 people and has three facilities throughout the south suburbs. In the 1990s, Sertoma opened its first Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) home.

Unfortunately, the budget impasse has hit Sertoma Centre hard. The Centre is primarily funded through Medicaid. But due to the budget impasse, delays in payment have meant a financial crisis for the community service center.

“All our services are dependent on state funding with the exception of our school transition program, which is funded through local school districts,” said Gus van den Brink, the executive director of Sertoma Centre.

The agency though has seen declining reimbursement rates for the services they provide. It could only be a matter of weeks before the facility has to start laying off staff due to the budget crunch they face.

Cunningham advocates for MAP Grants and social services in budget agreement

• MAP Grants
• 2017
• 100th General Assembly
• Sertoma
• Park Lawn

SPRINGFIELD – On Tuesday, the Illinois Senate pushed through legislation that would finish funding state services through the end of the current fiscal year. The legislative package included legislation that would send promised MAP grant money to students for the current fiscal year.

“The state of Illinois committed to assisting students in bettering themselves by attending a university or community colleges,” Cunningham said. “We need to send the money we promised these students so that they aren’t left hanging with the bill.”

The legislation also would fund critical human service programs who saw what little funding was available from the stopgap proposal end on December 31.

“Groups like Sertoma, Park Lawn and Sandbox Learning Center have gone for far too long with no certainty that funding is coming,” Cunningham said. “Today, we were able to give them some hope by starting to pass this compromise.”