April 19, 2020 – U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis has announced federal funding going to 13th District universities and colleges to provide direct emergency cash grants to college students for education-related expenses lost due to COVID-19. Additionally, the State of Illinois will receive nearly $108.5 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund to provide flexible funding to fit the state’s specific educational needs.
“As the father of three college students, I know many students and schools have been impacted because of this pandemic,” said Davis. “These funds will provide direct relief to many college students who are out of money for housing, meal plans, and other related expenses. These grants and the funds provided to the Governor will also begin to help our colleges and K-12 schools handle these unexpected changes.”
University or College/Total Allocation/Minimum Allocation Must Go To Emergency Financial Aid to Students
Blackburn College: $913,000/$456,000
Heartland Community College: $2.092 million/$1.046 million
Illinois State University: $16.1 million/$8.06 million
Illinois Wesleyan University: $1.341 million/$670,000
Lewis and Clark Community College: $2.062 million/$1.03 million
Lincoln Land Community College: $2.7 million/$1.35 million
Millikin University: $2.29 million/$1.149 million
Parkland Community College: $3.275 million/$1.637 million
Richland Community College: $1.365 million – $682,000
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: $9.67 million/$4.83 million
University of Illinois Springfield: $1.73 million/$856,000
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: $31.4 million/$15.7 million
The CARES Act provided nearly $14 billion to support postsecondary education students and institutions. Colleges and universities are required to utilize these funds to provide cash grants to students for expenses related to disruptions to their educations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, including things like course materials and technology as well as food, housing, health care, and childcare. The college or university determines which students will receive the cash grants. CLICK HERE for more information from the Department of Education.
