In his State of the State address last week, Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced a proposal that would benefit the families of children attending any college in Illinois, public or private. The proposal includes a $1,000 state tax credit for the families of freshmen and sophomores maintaining a ‘B’ average. For example, if a family owes Illinois $1,500 in state taxes but has a child meeting the college tuition tax credit criteria, they would then owe $500. If that family only owed $500 in state taxes, they would receive a check from Springfield for $500.

The governor’s plan is revolutionary and would help many middle and low class families send their children off to college, whereas that dream would have been impossible before. However, the plan is overly ambitious and unrealistic given the state’s $5 billion budget deficit and nothing more than an election year pitch to win votes that will eventually go unfulfilled.

The primary reason tuition has been allowed to soar under Blagojevich’s tenure is because of budget cuts the state has made in an attempt to reel in the deficit. This program is projected to cost as much as $90 million per year. If the state has so much flexibility that they can forgo $90 in tax revenue, wouldn’t a smarter option be to sink that money back into the university system and use it to keep tuition at a reasonable level rather than ignore the root of the problem?

Or, instead of using $90 million to keep tuition low, the state might consider giving the universities money to update facilities. Given the dire need for renovations here at the University, what seems like a better option, stuffing current residence halls and classrooms with more students benefiting from the tax credit, or maintaining enrollment levels and providing better facilities for students already here? It would be a noble cause to help disadvantaged families send their children to college, but what good is a degree from a dilapidated and crumbling school that time has passed by?

The governor has consistently placed higher education at the bottom of his priorities throughout his four years in office, and this announcement is just one more reminder of how not only our University, but all Illinois colleges have been treated.

This kind of act is typical among incumbent politicians. When poll numbers look bad in an election year, they promise voters the world and deliver nothing when they are kept office. Blagojevich is trying to connect the dreams of middle and low class families with a pie-in-the-sky tax credit that is not a financial reality for the state.

Just as his campaign billboards hanging over Chicago’s renovated toll booths remind voters who brought them that project, Blagojevich is trying to stick his name to any glorious idea he can, and now he has latched on to the concept of an affordable college education. However, the state’s higher education system is a little more important than the toll booths and should not be used as a political toy. It’s time for the state to get real about funding higher education so that tuition can stay reasonable, rather than patching the problem with a questionable tax credit policy that may ultimately hurt our universities and all students who attend them.