Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) was among the lawmakers who voted Thursday to fund Illinois’ college tuition assistance program and ease the worries of thousands of low- and middle-income students who’ve been left to flounder because of the state budget stalemate.

Senate Bill 2043 would release more than $397 million for Illinois Monetary Assistance Program grants for students who can’t afford the cost of college on their own. The MAP grants have been held up for months because of the stalemate, leaving struggling students to seek financial help elsewhere or put their education on hold.

“Although this does little to advance a budget, it does ensure the state lives up to the promise it made to support young people who want to stay in college but can’t afford to do so on their own,” Harmon said. “I urge the governor to sign SB 2043 into law as soon as possible and then refocus his attention on negotiating a state budget in good faith with lawmakers.”

Senate Bill 2043 does the following:

• Authorizes $397.1 million for the MAP program, an increase of $32 million over the previous fiscal year. Last year MAP grants were provided to about 128,000 low-income college students. The increase this year would enable an additional 15,000 eligible students to attend college.
• Provides more than $260 million for operations at community colleges throughout the state.
• Provides nearly $14 million to support operations at the City Colleges of Chicago.
• Provides $49.8 million for statewide career and technical education, as well as GED programs.

The bill passed in both houses of the legislature. It now goes to Gov. Bruce Rauner for his signature.