CONGRATULATIONS (some restrictions may apply)

Once upon a time there was a girl named Kaylin. Kaylin was an intelligent girl who knew that to succeed in life you needed to work hard. And she did work hard, so hard that she managed to be in the top 5% of her high school class and scored in the 95th percentile on her ACT/SAT. To honor her great achievements the state of Illinois awarded her with a $1,000 State Merit Scholarship. Kaylin, who's been working part time at a convience store to help pay for college, was ecstatic and relieved to be receiving some financial help. But then the Big Bad State Assistance Commission came knocking on her door to inform her, as well as 6,300 other scholarship recipients, that they would NOT be receiving their "scholarships." Unfortunately there is no prince available to give this story a happy ending.

Apparently the Merit Recognition Scholarship Program was cut from the budget that was passed last month, after students were notified about their award. What kind of message does this send to Kaylin and the rest of the students in Illinois? "Congratulations and thanks for working so hard, you have a bright future ahead of you. Here is a scholarship to help you out, just make sure you read the fine print, some restrictions may apply."