Lawmakers aren't giving up free college tuition perk

While state lawmakers routinely claim clout plays no role when they hand out free college tuition, not one has chosen to completely turn over the perk to an outside agency - yet.

"I think I might be the first one," says state Sen. Carole Pankau, an Itasca Republican who says she was unaware of the option until the Daily Herald told her about it.

Every few years there is much gnashing of teeth as the media pores over hundreds of tuition waivers doled out annually and ultimately finds political connections to many of the students who receive them.

Each state senator and representative is allowed to give out eight one-year tuition waivers for an Illinois public university to any district resident he or she wants.

But few if any lawmakers know about or use a portion of the law that allows them to remove any question of impropriety by giving their scholarships to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to dole out.

A commission spokesman said not one of Illinois' 177 lawmakers has asked to use that provision. A Daily Herald report in 2003 also found no lawmaker using it.

Instead, many lawmakers have set up panels to vet applications for the eight, one year tuition waivers they are allowed to give out to any district resident every year. That is what Pankau has done, but still she has taken heat for some of those waivers ending up with the children of a campaign donor.

The scrutiny and accounts of clout-tainted waivers have led a handful of lawmakers to not give any out.

State Sen. Dan Duffy, a Lake Barrington Republican, is among them. But now, informed of the provision allowing him to turn over the tuition waivers to an outside commission, Duffy said he may do that instead.

"I think it is a good idea," he said. "It adds a layer of transparency."

It seems few lawmakers have ever read the actual law that allows them to give out free tuition, worth more than $12,000 depending on the university.

The law is pretty clear, saying lawmakers "may delegate to the (commission) the authority to nominate persons for General Assembly scholarships." Lawmakers can even direct the commission as to "evaluate and make recommendations" regarding tuition waiver applicants.

Pankau and Duffy, who is a freshman lawmaker, said no one has ever told them of the provision.

"It is not like there is a manual that tells you these things when you first come into office," Duffy said.

At least one watchdog group believes turning over the selection process to the state agency in charge of financial aid would seem to be a sure way to allay critics. Multiple attempts to abolish the waiver perk have failed throughout the years.

"If you want something ironclad, that seems to be an option they should look seriously at," says David Morrison, deputy director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

Still, some lawmakers refuse to hand out tuition waivers for reasons other than ethics.

State Rep. Mark Walker, an Arlington Heights Democrat, said he won't give out tuition waivers because they are not funded. State universities are not reimbursed for the tuition the recipients don't have to pay.

To Walker, that means other students may not get financial help from the university because it has to cover the costs of tuition waiver recipients.

"I really believe legislators shouldn't have privileges like that," he said.