Collegiate license plates offer Illinois residents the opportunity to show off their school pride and support students, but the $25 fee meant to provide for scholarships has been shuffled by the state legislature to cover budget holes.

University and state officials said money was taken from the scholarship funds in 2006, but donations made to the University through the license plate program eventually were given to the intended recipients.

For each license plate purchased, an extra $25 fee is added to the purchase price to provide for scholarships at the University.

The 2006 fund movements into the Illinois General Revenue Fund were part of a “fund sweep” under Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration.

“That was done by the Illinois General Assembly,” said Louis Pukelis of the governor’s office of management and budget. “They looked at where there might be excess dollars and moved them into the Budget Relief Fund to help in areas where the state was having challenges due to lower income receipts, lower sales tax receipts, etc.”

Illinois state Sen. Dan Rutherford called the use of funds raised from collegiate plates for other purposes “totally inappropriate.”

“What they did was they took money out that would have gone to scholarships,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford, who is also chairman of the Committee for Legislative Action, said there is a clear distinction between fees and taxes. Professional licensing fees provide a good example of how the system should work: The money paid to obtain a license should go toward regulating that profession, Rutherford said.

“Fees are for dedicated purposes,” he said. “What the Blagojevich administration is doing is sweeping that out of there and using it for general funding.”

Rutherford said no money had been swept from collegiate license funds this year.

Randy Kangas, assistant vice president for planning and budgeting at the University, said the fund sweeps had no impact on the amount of scholarships given out.

“At the moment we haven’t had a problem with that,” Kangas said. “Even though they have swept balances, the full amount has been appropriated each year.”

Kangas said the fund sweeps delayed but did not diminish the money given to the University for scholarships.

“At the moment, it’s just been a cash flow issue,” Kangas said. “I wouldn’t put it beyond that.”

Kangas said the University receives a yearly report from the Secretary of State on how many were sold and how much money is available.

Bob Anderson, senior associate director for the financial aid office, said the University received $168,425 through the plate program for 2008-09 school year, $168,267 of which has been distributed in scholarships. Anderson said the average award was $972.

The Illinois General Assembly recommended transfers of $139,439 from the State College & University Trust Fund and $23,881 from the University Grant Fund from July 31, 2003, to April 30, 2007. General Assembly legislation and the Committee for Legislative Action confirmed both figures.

Two funds exist because of the differences in financing for public and private institutions. Money raised from the sale of collegiate plates from private schools goes toward the University Grant Fund, which is distributed by the Illinois Student Aid Commission.

Michael Solomon, who sits on the commission, said that during calendar year 2007, $168,425 was collected specifically for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scholarships.

Solomon said he did not know about any fund sweeps affecting the scholarships.

“They talk about sweeping one fund one week, and one fund the other week,” Solomon said. “If that fund got swept, I wouldn’t know.”

So far, Kangas said no funds swept from the scholarship have been permanently taken from scholarships for the University.

“Thus far, we have received the full amount of proceeds from the license plate funds,” Kangas said.