After helping to pass the American Rescue Plan, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos announced a total of $98,034,270 in emergency funding for colleges and universities throughout Illinois’ 17th Congressional District today.
The funding will help local schools cope with the severe financial fallout from the pandemic and continue serving their students safely. At least half of the funding each institution receives will be distributed in the form of emergency cash assistance grants to students who are facing hunger, homelessness, and other hardships as a result of the past unprecedented year.
“The American Rescue Plan was the bold package we needed to deliver direct relief to our students, teachers and educators so they can get back in the classroom safely and our institutions receive support,” said Congresswoman Bustos. “A strong education is critical to the success of the next generation of leaders, and I’m proud to have helped ensure this desperately needed relief returns to our corner of Illinois and supports our students.”
In the district Congresswoman Bustos serves, the schools that will receive American Rescue Plan funding are:
Augustana College: $5,381,827
Black Hawk College: $8,249,958
Bradley University: $11,083,484
Carl Sandburg College: $4,515,215
Highland Community College: $3,840,353
Illinois Central College: $14,378,374
Knox College: $3,491,027
Monmouth College: $2,749,332
Morrison Institute of Technology: $483,612
Rock Valley College: $11,944,780
Rockford University: $3,404,879
Spoon River College: $2,630,042
Western Illinois University (system-wide): $22,183,557
Sauk Valley Community College: $3,697,830
Students should contact their institutions for more information about how they can apply for an emergency grant.
The American Rescue Plan provides $36 billion for nearly 3,500 public and private, nonprofit colleges and universities nationwide. The package also includes nearly $3 billion in additional funding – which will be distributed at a later date – for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), other Minority-Serving Institutions, and other under-resourced institutions.
To read more about emergency education funding under the American Rescue Plan, click here.
***Report Courtesy of Congresswoman Bustos***
