Scholarships are for graduates of Evanston and Chicago High Schools

Evanston, IL –  Northwestern University will offer significantly increased financial aid to incoming freshmen who graduate from high schools in Evanston and Chicago, including eliminating loans and required work-study jobs and providing more scholarship funds. As a result, many students from those communities who need financial assistance will receive a scholarship that covers the full cost of tuition at Northwestern.

The new Good Neighbor, Great University Scholarship Program, which will begin with next year’s freshman class, will provide additional scholarship funds to students who need financial assistance. The scholarships will replace student loans, as well as earnings from summer and work-study jobs that students normally must contribute to the cost of their education. Eliminating these components and replacing them with more scholarship funds could save a student as much as $7,500 per year, or $30,000 over four years. In addition, by eliminating loans, it means that students will not face the challenge of paying off student loan debt as soon as they graduate from college.

The creation of the Good Neighbor, Great University Scholarship program was a key recommendation of an all-University task force on diversity and inclusion that was co-chaired by Northwestern President Morton Schapiro and Penelope Peterson, dean of Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy. The task force, which considered a variety of ways to increase diversity in the student population at Northwestern, included students, faculty, staff and members of Northwestern’s Board of Trustees.

“Evanston and Chicago are homes to our campuses, and as such, we want to reach out to students from those communities,” President Schapiro said. “By instituting this program, we hope to remove any barriers regarding affordability that would prevent those students from being able to attend Northwestern.”

Students who graduate from either a public or private high school in the cities of Chicago and Evanston and who enter Northwestern as a first-year students starting in fall 2011 will be eligible for the Good Neighbor, Great University scholarships. Students must be admitted to Northwestern through either regular admission or the early decision process.

“Northwestern has a long-standing commitment to enrolling the very brightest students from around the world, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances and this new program is an extension of this commitment,” said Michael Mills, associate provost for enrollment management. “Students from low- and moderate-income families face significant obstacles on the road to earning a college degree, and we hope that this new scholarship makes their journey a little easier.”

Northwestern hopes to provide the Good Neighbor, Great University scholarships to approximately 100 first-year students fall 2011 and perhaps increase it to as many as 200 in the future, Mills said. Approximately 2,000 first-year students enroll at Northwestern each year.

An important component of the Good Neighbor, Great University initiative will be increased support programs for students, noted Peterson. “We want to ensure that we give these students strong academic, social and personal support once they get to Northwestern,” she said. “We want all our students to be successful and feel included.”

For information on the Good Neighbor, Great University Scholarships, go to: http://ug-finaid.northwestern.edu/ on the web.

Study Confirms State’s Financial Situation is ‘Obscene”

Chicago, IL - The Institute for Truth in Accounting released Illinois‘ “Financial State of the State“, which answers the question, “Is the state bankrupt?”  The Institute’s reports the state has only $20 billion of assets to cover $140.6 billion in bills —- a $120.6 billion shortfall.  Each Illinois taxpayer’s share is $29,200.

This precarious financial position falls under one definition of bankruptcy —- A debtor that does not have the financial means to pay their bills as they come due.  The Institute’s detailed study of Illinois’ June 30, 2009 audited financial report and retirement systems’ actuarial reports found the state does not have the $120.6 billion needed to pay for its liabilities as they come due.

 “The state has incurred billions of dollars of liabilities and does not have the means to meet these liabilities,” said Sheila Weinberg, founder & CEO of the Institute.

On July 2 Comptroller Dan Hynes admitted that the state did not have $5 billion to pay bills that were due.  In a New York Times interview Hynes stated, “This is not some esoteric budget issue; we are not paying bills for absolutely essential services,” He underscored, “That is obscene.”

“Our study of the Illinois budget processes and financial reports found our governor and legislators continue to damage the state by not following the state budget law,” stressed Weinberg.  “Their total disregard of Illinois’ balanced budget requirement has resulted in a financial hole that may be insurmountable.” 

The Institute’s study revealed that each year when calculating a balanced budget the governor and legislators routinely overlook billions of dollars of payroll costs, including earned retirement benefits.  Bill Gates recently called this practice “accounting fraud”.  The Institute’s chair, Roger Nelson, commented, “We must stop this practice, which our elected officials have used to pretend they have balanced the budget, while not providing the necessary funding for $100 billion retirement benefits promised our state employees and teachers.”

The Illinois’ Financial State of the State can be found on the Institute’s website:  http://www.truthinaccounting.org/    Research comments can be found at:  http://illinois.statebudgetwatch.org/

About the Institute for Truth in Accounting

The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) is dedicated to promoting honest, accurate, and transparent accounting at all levels of government and business.  As a non-partisan, non-profit organization, the IFTA works to expose accounting deficiencies while promoting better, more accessible delivery of accurate government financial data-and, in turn, providing a foundation for more informed public policy.  The IFTA provides its expertise to develop more effective accounting standards and deliver accurate government financial information to policymakers, opinion leaders, and citizens, so they can all work for a more secure financial future. To learn more, please visit our website at www.TruthInAccounting.org.

1500 Skokie Boulevard, Suite 304
Northbrook, IL  60062
847-835-5200

Also favors more transparency and immediate cost-savings.

 Illinois State Representative David Miller, Democratic nominee for State Comptroller, is in favor of the proposal to merge the offices of Treasurer and Comptroller.

“I am in favor of merging the two offices, and if State Senator Kwame Raoul’s bill to do just that comes before the Illinois House I will support that measure,” said Miller.

“The Treasurer’s office and the Comptroller’s office were created as separate offices in the aftermath of the Orville Hodge embezzlement scandal (http://www.time.com/time/ magazine/article/0,9171, 867023,00.html). In this current era of George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich pay-to-play insider politics, we have to have open and transparent government. Illinoisans are universally tired of headlines about ethics scandals, and that’s why I introduced a proposal last week to put all government salaries and contracts on line. To make consolidation effective, we need to turn the page on the politics of the past.”  

“We must also be realistic about the impact of consolidating the two offices. Consolidation of the two offices will first require a constitutional amendment to be approved by the people of Illinois. Assuming voter approval, we wouldn’t see any savings to the taxpayers through consolidation for at least four years.  We shouldn’t wait four years to start saving taxpayer dollars.”

“That’s why I’m for immediate cost savings, not just those we might achieve four or more years from now. That’s why I have championed cost-savings by eliminating the redundancies in both offices and improving technology to cut down on costs. 

“Health care service providers, and other providers of key services, need help now. They can’t wait four years to be rescued from this fiscal quicksand.”

You can check local Cash Dash listings for name; new online process makes filing claims easier

 Residents who find their names in Cash Dash lists published in Cook and collar county newspapers on Aug. 28 and 29 now have an easier way to claim their lost money and assets, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said.

 Giannoulias’ office has revamped its Cash Dash website to offer online filing and tracking of Cash Dash claims. Visitors to www.cashdash.net now have the option of setting up an online account which quickly allows them to learn if their claim has been received, processed or approved. 

“With better technology in place, it’s easier for Illinois residents to file claims and to be reunited with their property faster than ever before,” Giannoulias said. “In these tough economic times, it’s important that we do everything we can to return this money to Illinois families that could really use it.”

 Twice a year in February and August, the Treasurer’s Office is required by law to publish the names of individuals who were reported to the state in the last six months and whose claims are worth more than $100.  

During the week of Aug. 29, more than 62,000 names of newly reported unclaimed property owners will be published in the Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Herald-News and Kendall County Record. The claimants are owed a total of more than $35 million. 

Ken Smith of Chicago was shocked to see his name listed this year in a February publication. It turned out that his late father had left him stock in McDonalds and money in two bank accounts totaling more than $17,000.  

“It’s been a rough last couple of years and it helped out a lot,” Smith said of the unexpected windfall. “I got one charge card all the way paid off and another paid down quite a bit.”

The State Treasurer’s Office currently holds $1.4 billion dollars in unclaimed property belonging to more than 10 million Illinois residents and businesses.

 In 2009, the Treasurer’s office returned nearly $83 million in lost assets to more than 39,000 Illinois residents and businesses. Thanks to expansive outreach efforts, $255 million has been returned to claimants under the Giannoulias administration – more than was returned in the first 39 years of the program.  

Unclaimed property consists of money and other assets held by banks and other businesses that are considered lost or abandoned after an owner cannot be located for more than five years. This typically includes forgotten bank accounts, safe deposit box contents or paid-up life insurance policies. When such items go unclaimed, they are sent to the Treasurer’s Office for distribution. 

Residents who want more information on unclaimed property should contact the Treasurer’s Office by visiting www.treasurer.il.gov and following the Cash Dash link or calling (866) 458-7327.

• BBB Advice: Never wire money to someone you don’t know. You should never have to send money to receive any winnings from a lottery or sweepstakes. Be suspect of winning from something you never bought a ticket for or entered.

• BBB Advice: Remind your elderly family members that Medicare will never call to ask for sensitive personal financial information. If you suspect fraud contact your local police or the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

• BBB Advice: Offer help to elderly family members if they have recently lost a loved one and are inexperienced in managing finances and personal affairs. If you are uncertain about owing a debt when collectors call, ask for written confirmation.

• BBB Advice: Find professionals you can trust by checking out www.bbb.org  Always research a company with the BBB before you hand over any money and report any deceptive services to your BBB, local law enforcement and Illinois’ Attorney General’s office. 

• BBB Advice: Always research any work at home opportunity with the BBB prior to agreeing or sending money. Beware of investment or money-making offers that seem too good to be true or use high pressure sales tactics to get you to sign up immediately. Ask a trusted family member or friend to review anything that requires an advance fee be paid. 

Chicago, IL – State Representative Luis Arroyo (D-3rd) announced that the Mass Transit Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives will hold a hearing today (August 26) to investigate and fix problems at Metra. Arroyo serves as the Chairman of the Committee.