A bill aiming to reform the Illinois General Assembly Scholarship Program supported by Senate President John Cullerton passed the Senate floor in a unanimous vote last week.

Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Cullerton, said the program, which allows state lawmakers to award tuition waivers to students attending Illinois public universities, is worth keeping, but needs change to avoid misuse by legislators.

“Even if there were problems in the past, it doesn’t mean the entire program is toxic,” she said. “So let’s mend it, not end it.”

Cullerton’s bill would forbid students from receiving the scholarships if their family had contributed to a politician’s campaign five years before.

If a student does receive a scholarship, no contributions could be made for five years after.

The bill would also require students to show proof of acceptance into a public university before receiving a scholarship, so they could not use it as leverage to get into a school.

Some legislators believe that Cullerton’s plan is not enough. Patty Schuh is a spokeswoman for Senator Christine Radogno, one of the most outspoken senators on the issue.

“Senator Radogno believes that the time has come to eliminate [the scholarships],” she said. “While they do provide education opportunities for some students they also end up costing other students.”

Sara Wojcicki, spokeswoman for Ill. Republican House Leader Tom Cross, said the congressman would prefer to eliminate the program, but agrees that change is needed and said he would sign Cullerton’s bill if it appeared on his desk.

“His opinion is we should eliminate them,” she said. “That would be his priority.”

The debate over General Assembly Scholarships is nothing new. Wojcicki said past proposals have been made to end them.

“For many years there have been proposals to eliminate the scholarships,” she said. “It’s been questioned before.”

She added that some legislators who disagree with the program “don’t use the system,” and have chosen to abstain from it.

In the wake of revelations on the corruption of Illinois government and the state’s budget problems, legislators know public opinion is crucial in their decision.

“Certainly the Tribune exposé and the U of I admissions did point to some areas that were instances of abuse,” Phelon said.

Schuh said it is clear that this distrust has tainted the General Assembly Scholarships.

“There’s a public perception that they are ripe with abuse,” she said.

Phelon said she hopes public opinion does not turn the tide to end the program, because it helps students at a time when financial aid is in such high demand.

“Especially in these economic times we would hate to see that the general public would simply want to do away with these,” she said.

One reason Radogno opposes the scholarships is because they hurt schools financially, according to Schuh.

“Because they’re not paid for, the universities have to absorb the cost and she doesn’t view that as good public policy,” she said.

According to Phelon, students receive these scholarships for various reasons, from academic performance to economic need.

Schuh disagreed and said that claiming legislators offer scholarships based on income is not necessarily true, because there is no requirement for recipients to have any financial need.

“To say you’re giving it to students who can’t afford it otherwise is in effect a nice PR spin,” she said.

Both Phelon and Wojcicki said the issue is not clearly drawn between republicans and democrats.

“We have members on both sides of the aisle so no, I don’t think this is strictly a partisan issue,” Phelon said.