Sente Named Vice-Chair of Higher Education Committee

State Rep. Carol Sente (D-59th) was announced in February as the vice-chairman of the Higher Education Committee of the House of Representatives. This position will allow Sente to expand her efforts to improve the quality of education and empower Illinois’ future workforce.

“Children are the greatest asset we have and I look forward to using this position to advocate for students at all levels to ensure they have the opportunity to pursue their educational goals here in Illinois,” Sente said in a statement. “Too many of our brightest minds look outside of Illinois to continue their education and don’t return to our state. I will work with our institutions of higher education to make sure they have the resources to compete with their counterparts out of state and remain a resource for our residents.”

As budget cuts continue to impact educational institutions and cause tuition increases, Sente co-sponsored House Bill 227, to abolish the General Assembly Legislative “Scholarship” program. In recent years, reports have surfaced accusing members of the University of Illinois’ Board of Trustees of offering preference to politically connected students while rejecting the admission of more qualified individuals, and the Chicago Tribune has uncovered that over a five year period, 240 scholarships were awarded to relatives of campaign donors and other well-connected students, including children of an elected official’s employees and lobbyists.

“This is not a scholarship program, it’s a waiver that elected officials get to hand out without any concern for the impact they have on the universities that result in higher fees for other tuition paying students. These tuition waivers are not funded by the state, putting an additional financial burden on the backs of our already struggling universities, students, parents and taxpayers,” Sente said. “I will not participate in this program, and will instead focus on ways to ensure that higher education is affordable and accessible to all students.”