SPRINGFIELD - Illinois' financial breakdown could mean that college students asking for tuition help won't get as much money when school starts back up this fall.

And students might not get anything for their spring semesters.

The state spending plan approved by lawmakers calls for state spending to be cut in half in some areas. That includes a hit to the fund used to pay for Monetary Award Program grants, which are need-based assistance for about 130,000 Illinois college students.

Those who get the grants this year won't get as much under the current budget plan, Andrew Davis, executive director of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, said Thursday.

The state budget situation could certainly change by the time school starts. But the commission's plan now is to give students who get the grants about 80 percent of their normal rate for the fall semester.

After that, though, the commission would be out of money for the spring semester. Students depending on the grants would be out of luck, he said.

The bottom line for students is they'd have to find help elsewhere, borrow more money if they can, or leave college altogether.

"There will be people for whom this represents the straw that breaks the camel's back," Davis said.

Gov. Pat Quinn has been pushing for an income tax hike for months, saying the financial health of the state depends on it. In recent weeks, Quinn has tried to detail what would happen to state services if there's no tax increase, threatening cuts to services for seniors and the disabled, as well as the MAP program.

Because of provisions in the federal economic stimulus plan approved by Congress, the state hasn't cut funding for its public universities. So the financial aid losses would be one of the major effects of the state's budget situation for college students.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said he's gotten a lot of phone calls from people concerned about the MAP program. He called it a major problem without a clear solution.

"I don't have the crystal ball," he said.

Student Assistance Commission statistics show how average students in various areas would be affected. Someone in the MAP program in Brady's legislative district, for example, gets about $2,550 a year in help now. Under the reduced budget plan, the average student would get $955.

In state Rep. Bob Flider's Decatur-area district, the average student would get about $900 in the reduced budget, down from $2,400.

Lawmakers could return to Springfield next week to talk about the situation, but a full resolution seems unlikely to some observers. Democrats have blamed Republicans for not supporting an income tax hike to fix the state budget. Republicans have needled Democrats for not trying to adopt some budget reforms first.

"I hope that Democrats in the Senate who voted on this budget understood what it would do," said state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.

A full chart on the MAP grant impacts by legislative district can be found at: http://www.collegezone.com/media/Senate_and_House_Impacts.pdf