102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2095

 

Introduced 2/17/2021, by Rep. Jim Durkin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/5

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Makes a technical change concerning the Act's purpose.


LRB102 12315 CMG 17652 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2095LRB102 12315 CMG 17652 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 5 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/5)
7    Sec. 5. Purpose. The The General Assembly finds and
8declares that (1) the provision of a higher education for all
9residents of this State who desire a higher education and are
10properly qualified therefor is important to the welfare and
11security of this State and Nation and, consequently, is an
12important public purpose, and (2) many qualified students are
13deterred by financial considerations from completing their
14education, with a consequent irreparable loss to the State and
15Nation of talents vital to welfare and security. The number of
16qualified persons who desire a higher education is increasing
17rapidly, and the physical facilities, faculties, and staffs of
18the institutions of higher learning operated by, within and
19for the residents of the State will have to be expanded greatly
20to accommodate those persons, with an attendant sharp increase
21in the cost of educating them. A system of financial
22assistance of scholarships, grants, and loans for qualified
23residents of college age will enable them to attend qualified

 

 

HB2095- 2 -LRB102 12315 CMG 17652 b

1institutions of their choice in the State, public or private.
2The adoption of new federal student loan legislation
3necessitates that the State update and broaden its system of
4financial student assistance.
5    As market conditions permit, the Commission is
6specifically encouraged to offer reasonable and affordable
7supplemental or alternative educational loans to students who
8seek to obtain these loans. As part of these alternative or
9supplemental direct lending initiatives, the Commission may
10give priority consideration to students assisted by the
11Commission's need-based programs.
12    The system of financial assistance provided under this Act
13includes prepaid programs for college savings, and the
14Commission is specifically encouraged to enlist employers in
15providing voluntary matching donations to the amount that
16their employees save through these prepaid programs.
17(Source: P.A. 96-198, eff. 8-10-09.)