Don't be premature in celebrating the restoration of the state's Monetary Award Program for college students from low-income families.

The vote provides no new funding; it just, in effect, tells the governor to find the money "somewhere." If there is some secret stash of cash "somewhere," Gov. Pat Quinn hasn't told anyone about it.

Quinn has said previously that discretionary money lawmakers provided for him to dole out is already gone or committed to other high priority items involving public health or safety. Now he is talking about sweeping special funds - a favorite ploy of his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich - and continuing to advocate a tax hike, but only after the Feb. 2 primary election.

More cuts in other programs could be possible, triggering another round of rallies.

It's ironic that a program known by the acronym MAP doesn't have a "map" for how it should be financed.

Oh, there's talk of adding another dollar a pack to cigarettes to bridge the gap or even offering a tax amnesty program to bring money more quickly into the state's coffers. But neither has been approved or even considered in this fall session.

Why did lawmakers approve the "rescue" bill without approving money to pay for it?

Maybe it was force of habit. Lawmakers have become accustomed to approving programs and finding money for them later.

Maybe they voted for approval to encourage the hundreds of students who came to Springfield to rally for the MAP grants.

We are all in favor of encouraging civic involvement, particularly among today's college students. But part of civic involvement is learning that quick fixes aren't always the right fixes and "what's in it for me" is not the best standard for participation.

Don't get us wrong. We think funding for the MAP grants should be extended to cover the spring semester. We just don't think it should be approved without knowing how to pay for it.

Not only are students getting a questionable lesson in civic involvement, they are getting a poor lesson in personal finance.

We hope none of the students who lobbied for MAP grants in Springfield follow the example of lawmakers and buy cars or other expensive items without knowing how to pay for them.

Every lawmaker who voted to provide $200 million for spring semester MAP grants - and that means every lawmaker except state Rep. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, the lone "no" vote - has a responsibility to say where the money should come from and to work toward providing or identifying that source.