217 Today: Colleges hand out scholarships to attract top students — at the expense of kids in need

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For Layla Granville, getting a scholarship meant the difference not in where she went to college — but whether she could go at all. Granville is in her freshman year at Dominican University in the western suburbs.
  • Photo: Lisa Kurian Philip / WBEZ

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Today’s headlines: 

  • West suburban Oak Park has told migrants temporarily living in two locations that they must move out by the end of January.
  • U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is demanding that the Biden Administration kick in more funds to overhaul Chicago’s Union Station.
  • Applications are now being taken for farmers who want discounts on their crop insurance in exchange for planting cover crops to protect the soil over the winter.

In today’s deep dive, we’ll learn more about why the number of Black students in Illinois enrolled in college has declined over the past decade.

Reporting today contributed by Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, Claudia Morell, Jim Meadows and Lisa Kurian

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Farrah Anderson

Farrah Anderson is a 2024 graduate of the University of Illinois. At Illinois Public Media, Anderson works as a general assignment reporter focusing on police and investigative stories.