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| 1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||
| 5 | amended by adding Section 65.85 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (110 ILCS 947/65.85 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 65.85. Student loan repayment assistance program for | ||||||
| 8 | public sector attorneys. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois | ||||||
| 10 | law students to enter and continue working in the public | ||||||
| 11 | sector, the Commission shall, each year, receive and consider | ||||||
| 12 | applications for loan repayment assistance under this Section. | ||||||
| 13 | The Commission shall administer the program and shall make all | ||||||
| 14 | necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with this Section | ||||||
| 15 | for the program's effective implementation. The Commission may | ||||||
| 16 | use up to 5% of the appropriation for this program for | ||||||
| 17 | administration and promotion of the program. | ||||||
| 18 | (b) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such | ||||||
| 19 | purposes, each year the Commission shall award a grant to each | ||||||
| 20 | qualified applicant in an amount equal to 10% of the total | ||||||
| 21 | amount in law school student loans owed at the time of the | ||||||
| 22 | initial application. If a grant recipient receives a grant | ||||||
| 23 | under this Section each year for 10 years and the amount of law | ||||||
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| 1 | school student loans he or she must repay in each of those | ||||||
| 2 | years is at least 5% of the attorney's gross annual income, | ||||||
| 3 | then the grant amount for the 10th year shall equal the | ||||||
| 4 | remainder of the amount that he or she owes on the law school | ||||||
| 5 | student loans. However, the total amount in grants that a | ||||||
| 6 | person may receive under this Section must not exceed $60,000. | ||||||
| 7 | The Commission shall encourage the recipient of a grant under | ||||||
| 8 | this Section to use the grant amount awarded to pay off his or | ||||||
| 9 | her law school student loans. | ||||||
| 10 | (c) A person is a qualified applicant under this Section if | ||||||
| 11 | he or she meets all of the following qualifications: | ||||||
| 12 | (1) The person is a United States citizen or eligible | ||||||
| 13 | noncitizen. | ||||||
| 14 | (2) The person is a resident of this State. | ||||||
| 15 | (3) The person is an attorney licensed in this State. | ||||||
| 16 | (4) The person has law school student loans to repay. | ||||||
| 17 | (5) The person is employed in a public sector job, as | ||||||
| 18 | determined by the Commission, but does not have to be | ||||||
| 19 | employed as an attorney in that job. | ||||||
| 20 | (6) The person is not a participant in a federal loan | ||||||
| 21 | forgiveness program for attorneys. | ||||||
| 22 | (7) The person agrees to provide at least 30 hours of | ||||||
| 23 | pro-bono work with a legal aid entity within this State, as | ||||||
| 24 | determined by the Commission, in consultation with the | ||||||
| 25 | Illinois Equal Justice Foundation as to those legal aid | ||||||
| 26 | entities most in need of pro-bono attorneys, each year that | ||||||
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| 1 | he or she receives a grant under this Section. | ||||||
| 2 | (8) The person's gross annual income is $80,000 or | ||||||
| 3 | less. | ||||||
| 4 | (d) All applications for grant assistance under this | ||||||
| 5 | Section shall be made to the Commission. The form of | ||||||
| 6 | application and the information required to be set forth in the | ||||||
| 7 | application shall be determined by the Commission, and the | ||||||
| 8 | Commission shall require applicants to submit with their | ||||||
| 9 | applications such supporting documents as the Commission deems | ||||||
| 10 | necessary. | ||||||
| 11 | (e) The Commission, in consultation with the Illinois | ||||||
| 12 | Public Defender Association, shall give preference to those | ||||||
| 13 | grant applicants under this Section who serve or shall agree to | ||||||
| 14 | serve in areas of this State in which a significant shortage of | ||||||
| 15 | public defenders exists.
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| 16 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
| 17 | 2009.
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