By WJBC Staff

SPRINGFIELD – A bipartisan working group is urging passage of a package of bills designed to improve the higher education system in Illinois.

The group has held 17 meetings and produced six pieces of legislation they hope to quickly push through this week.

State Rep. Chris Welch, D-Westchester, said the group aims to keep college kids in-state and tackle issues like making it easier to transfer credits.

“I do believe this entire package of bills puts us back in the game,” Welch said. “We are here, we mean business, we want our students to stay in Illinois.”

Another measure expands state MAP (Monetary Assistance Program) grant awards from one year to four so students have more long-term certainty about funding and a different bill expands debt limits at state universities so schools can address overdue maintenance issues and campus improvements.

State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said the constant uncertainty of map funding has caused many students to seek other offers.

“One of the thing we heard time and time again from every single public four-year institution was that these out of state schools come in and offer four-year awards and they are stuck backpedaling,” Rose said.

The group hopes to get all the initiatives passed this week, saying they are the key to keeping college students in Illinois.