Bill Bans Scholarships to Lawmakers’ Relatives

The Illinois Senate is sending Gov. Pat Quinn legislation that would prohibit lawmakers from giving school scholarships to relatives.

The bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale makes relatives -- including those related by marriage -- ineligible for legislative scholarships to pay for college from Senate or House members.

Legislators may hand out tuition waivers each year. The process has been criticized for decades because tuition waivers in some cases have gone to family members or political supporters.

But efforts to abolish the system have failed. A proposal to change the process last year drew a veto from Quinn because he prefers to do away with it entirely.