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SIU President Backs Cigarette Tax Increase
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Southern Illinois University's president is backing Gov. Pat Quinn's proposal to put a new $1 tax on cigarettes, saying the extra revenue could be used to help low-income college students.

Glenn Poshard says the tax might shore up the monetary assistance program, or MAP. Those grants help more than 7,500 generally low-income students attend SIU.

State budget cuts mean 50 percent less funds for MAP this year, leaving no funding for the spring semester. Poshard says that's a loss of about $25 million for the SIU system.

Poshard says MAP students represent about 18 percent of SIU's population on its Edwardsville campus and nearly one-quarter of the enrollment in Carbondale.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
09 11 09 by Newsroom
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