An investigation of misuse of the waiver system by a central Illinois newspaper has shown abuse of the system by the legislators who control it.

After seeing the evidence of misuse in the information that made it to the paper, and the cost imposed on the universities by the waivers, we believe it is time for the Illinois legislature to end the tuition waiver program.

The Illinois tuition waiver system was initiated in 1905. Lawmakers are allowed to grant scholarships and tuition waivers to residents of that legislator’s district.

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The News-Gazette of Champaign reported Monday on the possible misuse of the tuition waiver system by state legislators. The News-Gazette used information obtained from Eastern and Western Illinois universities. This information contained the names and addresses of the students who received the waivers and the legislators who gave those waivers.

The information obtained from Eastern and Western universities contained 13,000 waivers given out since 1989, with 127 waivers going to students outside the sponsoring legislator’s district.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office said there are no penalties for the legislator’s giving waivers to people outside their districts, but that the universities should not honor those waivers.

Southern Illinois University, along with three other state universities, refused to turn over the information the News-Gazette requested under the Freedom of Information act because it would be a violation of the Buckley Amendment, and would violate the right to privacy clause in the Freedom of Information Act.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said that in debate last year, in the house of representatives, to end tuition waivers, it was pointed out that Illinois is one of only three states still allowing legislators to hand out waivers. The legislation containing a bill to end waivers was passed by the state house but was amended in the senate, removing the bill to end the waiver system.

The waivers also impose the cost of the student on the university they attend. In 1993-94, SIU received 172 student tuition waivers at a cost of $459,774. In 1995, SIU had 140 student tuition waivers at a cost of $470,296.

The tuition waivers system leaves open many possibilities for abuse. Lawmakers are not required to release the names of the recipients of this award, and the possibility for political patronage is to great to leave the system as it is without some sort of review.

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Legislator’s admit that the system is open to misuse and the numbers that were obtainable would seem to prove this fact. It is time to finally end this system, there has to be a way of awarding full tuition waivers to deserving candidates without the political influence that currently is found in the system.