Rep. Bryant responds to the reports

State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) is expressing serious concerns following news reports this week revealing possible widespread abuse of the state and federal student financial aid system.

"The reports that I read in the media today regarding affluent families giving up legal guardianship of their children to relatives, and then having that student apply for financial aid on their own financial merits, shows possible widespread abuse of our student loan and financial aid system," Bryant said in a statement. "Low-interest loans and MAP grants are supposed to give lower income students a better chance at receiving a post-secondary education. The money is not there for rich families to use at the expense of low income families."

Bryant said low-income students are the ones that will ultimately suffer the consequences of any abuse of the financial aid system.

"The fact is that by engaging in this kind of behavior, parents are teaching their kids that it is OK to steal, to be dishonest and to receive money you are not entitled to," Bryant said. "A truly sad result of this is that the money that is going to the students that are doing this is then not available for students from lower income homes. This is something that I will be actively pursuing in the coming legislative session. The state of Illinois must act to stop this abuse."