Macon Reporter

State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) marked the passage of House Bill 301 in a news release on May 25. The bill, which makes the AIM HIGH program permanent, is the result of bipartisan and bicameral cooperation among members of the higher education working group, including Rose himself.

House Bill 301, which was passed by both Houses on May 24, brings about significant changes to the AIM HIGH program. 

"I am honored to have played an important role in not just creating what has become a very popular tool for keeping Illinois’ best and brightest in state, but now expanding and making it permanent," Rose said.

The legislation removes references to the program as a pilot and mandates public universities to allow qualified full-time undergraduate students to apply for grants through the program. 

"Before AIM HIGH, our universities had been at an extreme disadvantage in terms of keeping Illinois’ top graduating high school seniors in Illinois," Rose said. "AIM HIGH offers them an important recruiting and retention tool, and it also helps to stem the ongoing brain drain caused by top-tier students leaving the state."

Additionally, the bill stipulates that public universities with a significant number of Pell Grant recipients must match 35% of the funds awarded with non-loan financial aid for eligible students, an increase from the previous 20%. 

Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westcheter) pre-filed the bill on Dec. 5, 2022.

According to a news release, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office announced that the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget includes an additional $15 million in funding for the AIM HIGH grant program. 

"The legislation I'm about to sign takes an important step forward in solidifying and improving this program," Pritzker said. "It allows our schools to keep any remaining AIM HIGH funds at the end of the fiscal year."

The AIM HIGH grant program has undergone previous enhancements. According to an August 2021 press release, Pritzker signed House Bill 2505 to strengthen the program, emphasizing the importance of solidifying and improving it.

"This will provide schools with the flexibility they need to use funds as effectively and efficiently as possible," Pritzker said. "Instead of losing out on leftover funds, our universities will be able to put them back into the program in future years or look to make improvements in how they run their program."

Rose said in his news release that he had proposed the concept for the AIM HIGH program years ago, and without this legislation, it would have expired in 2024. The name "AIM HIGH" was inspired by one of Rose's teachers, whose license plate carried the same phrase.

"To see my dream not just come to reality, but now be made permanent and be expanded to serve even more Illinois students and families, is a pretty special moment for me," Rose said. "College costs are way too high, and we are losing too many kids out of state. Aim High will, at least, add one more arrow to our public four-year universities’ quivers to attract and retain students here in Illinois."