After Boosting Funding by 40% in Budget, Gov. Pritzker Signs Legislation Strengthening AIM HIGH Grant Program

Springfield, Ill. — Surrounded by students and university leaders at Springfield Southeast High School, Gov. Pritzker signed HB 2505 which strengthens the AIM HIGH Grant Program.
 
The legislation allows universities to retain unused AIM HIGH scholarship funds at the end of the fiscal year and enjoy greater flexibility in administering the program going forward. The new law comes after Gov. Pritzker proposed increasing funding for the $25 million program by $10 million — a 40% increase. The governor's budget also boosts higher education by 5% and expands MAP Grants to an additional 16,000 low-income students enrolled in state colleges and universities.
 
The following is an excerpt of the governor's remarks from the bill signing ceremony:
 
The AIM HIGH Grant program helps our state universities attract Illinois high school students to their campuses. It provides financial assistance to help families afford college. And it keeps students in Illinois, allowing them to get their education here and contribute to the vibrancy and growth prospects for our state's economy.
 
After many years of a declining percentage of Illinois students choosing to stay in state, AIM HIGH is helping us change that dynamic, making it more affordable for students and their families to choose to stay here.
 
The legislation I'm about to sign takes an important step forward in solidifying and improving this program.
 
It allows our schools to keep any remaining AIM HIGH funds at the end of the fiscal year. This will provide schools with the flexibility they need to use funds as effectively and efficiently as possible. Instead of losing out on leftover funds, our universities will be able to put them back into the program in future years or look to make improvements in how they run their program.
 
I want to be clear, our work to support this program does not end there. My budget proposal includes an additional $10 million for AIM HIGH, bringing total funding to $35 million. That's a significant increase that will help keep more high-achieving students in state for school.
 
We also need to look at the big picture here. Our state colleges and universities have been underfunded for years, leading to tuition hikes and instability. The budget crises under the previous administration led to cuts and layoffs and forced our best and brightest out of state. Those days are over.
 
My administration is committed to reversing course. That's why my budget includes $52 million in additional direct funding for public universities and another $14 million for our community colleges. It will take time to rebuild, but we are beginning to put our colleges and universities on the road back to financial health and keep tuition costs from rising. 
 
In addition to increasing AIM HIGH funding, my budget also includes expands MAP Grants so that 16,000 more students will get scholarships to go to college in Illinois. It's my fervent belief that in the state of Illinois, we need to make college affordable for every single student who wants to attend college here. We're going to get there, and this budget is the first step.
 
And for those who choose not to go immediately to college, we're increasing funding for career and technical education in our high schools - the first increase in at least a decade. This will help put more of our students on the path to good paying jobs, right out of high school. Community colleges are some of our best institutions for workforce development and improving the skills of students and workers who want to get a better job, and I'm committed to increasing our reliance upon community colleges for making Illinois the destination for businesses looking for the most talented workers in the world.
 
This is an administration that values our students and their right to get a quality education right here in Illinois, and I will continue to do everything possible to make that a reality.