At Chicago Scholars, we support students getting to and through the colleges and universities that best fit their ambitions. In the past, these were often out-of-state schools. But the national landscape has quickly turned against first-generation and low-income students like ours.
Eight states have banned diversity, equity and inclusion work at public colleges. Florida and Alabama have effectively banned transgender students. Twenty-four states have curtailed residents’ reproductive rights. The U.S. Supreme Court banned the use of race in admissions while allowing legacy admissions to continue, preserving generational wealth gaps formed under segregation.
Illinois has taken a different approach. Following a generation of funding cuts, in the last five years Illinois has enacted a series of reforms to help students afford college and complete their degrees. Increased funding through AIM High, MAP and iGrow grants has been a lifeline to low-income students, particularly students of color, rural students and working adults.
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But more investment is needed. Colleges nationwide face an enrollment cliff after decades of rising tuition and declining birth rates. In Illinois, public university enrollment has declined 17% since 2014. Yet college degrees are more essential for securing high-paying jobs than ever before.
Illinois needs to produce and retain more college graduates to sustain local communities and develop a pipeline of skilled workers ready to compete in the global economy. We can achieve this by supporting students, attracting out-of-state talent and fostering a welcoming society through the following policies:
- Implement Illinois Commission on Equitable public university funding recommendations.
- Incentivize in-demand careers that grow the economy through targeted tuition breaks and student loan repayment initiatives.
- Pilot automatic admission for qualified high school and community college graduates at less selective public universities.
- Empower students by requiring public disclosure of college transfer and graduation rates, employment outcomes and student debt levels.
- Continue promoting course equivalency and transfer agreements, particularly between two- and four-year institutions.
- Improve student experience through strong academic advising, fostering a sense of belonging and supporting students’ basic needs.
Illinois has an opportunity to forge a new path in higher education. Future prosperity is inextricably tied to investing in today’s young talent. Our students are academically ambitious and motivated. We should open doors for this next generation of leaders rather than shut them out.
Daniel Rossi, managing director of evaluation and data solutions, Chicago Scholars
Bears living in ‘fantasy land’
Two thumbs up for the Chicago Sun-Times’ Sunday editorial commenting on the outrageous proposal by the Chicago Bears for publicly funding a new stadium. The Sun-Times editorial board thoroughly demolished the case the Bears attempted to make.
I can only add that in the real world where most of us dwell, as opposed to the fantasy land the McCaskeys are living in, actions have consequences. It’s clear now the supposed move of the Bears to Arlington Heights was nothing but a “fake out.“ And, just as in a football game where a quarterback makes a fake, it can go for a long gain, or the quarterback can get sacked. In this case, the numbers don’t add up, and the Bears’ proposal has been thrown for a loss.
The McCaskeys have been running an incompetent franchise for decades, on and off the field. They should be compelled to accept the consequences of their actions: No public support for a new stadium on the lakefront. We, the people of the state of Illinois, are not obligated to bail them out of their mistakes.
Chet Alexander, Alsip
New Bears stadium could hurt wildlife
How will the new stadium impact migrating birds and waterfowl? There is already a significant problem with birds flying into buildings and being injured or dying. I hope this issue is given serious consideration when deciding on the best location for a new stadium.
Nell Reisner, Forest Park
Not everyone is a journalist
Jacob Sullum’s opinion piece wants to confer journalist status to anyone who posts public media, not necessarily someone who is employed by or a contributor to a recognized news source (“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange published U.S. secrets as a journalist. He’s no criminal.”). I guess that makes me a journalist as I post on Facebook occasionally.
He also asserts that Julian Assange is not a criminal. He must be overlooking the fact that Assange endangered specific persons by revealing their identities, not just revealing government operations.
Nick Kelne, Wheaton
You can’t look up to Trump
Regarding “Biden has to show why having ‘a toddler-in-chief’ back in office is dangerous,” there have been far too many columns in the media offering all sorts of advice to President Biden to explain to the American people why Donald Trump is unfit to be president.
Frankly, Biden does not have to do much. If the American people do not realize by now that “Make America Great” is nothing more than making Trump great, we are in serious trouble when it comes to voting for candidates whom people, especially young people, can look up to and emulate. As his former lawyer Michael Cohen stated in his testimony to Congress in 2019: “He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat.”
Larry Vigon, Jefferson Park