Public Act 101-0315
 
SB1167 EnrolledLRB101 10506 AXK 55612 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
 
    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is 
amended  by adding Section 65.105 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 947/65.105 new)
    Sec. 65.105. Adult vocational community college 
scholarship.
    (a) The Commission shall, subject to appropriation, 
establish and administer an adult vocational community college 
scholarship program. 
    (b) Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, the 
Commission shall, each year, receive and consider applications 
for scholarships under this Section. An applicant is eligible 
for a scholarship under this Section if the Commission finds 
that the applicant meets all of the following qualifications:
        (1) He or she is over the age of 30.
        (2) He or she has been unemployed and is actively 
    searching for employment, including being enrolled on the 
    Department of Employment Security's job-search website for 
    at least 6 months prior to the date the application is 
    submitted by the applicant.
        (3) He or she is enrolled or accepted for enrollment at 
    his or her local community college organized under the 
    Public Community College Act.
        (4) He or she can identify the specific training 
    certificate, credential, or associate degree that he or she 
    is seeking to obtain; the career that the certificate, 
    credential, or degree will help create; and how long it 
    will take the applicant to reach this goal.
    Applicants may re-apply for the scholarship under this 
Section if they can demonstrate continual progress, in terms of 
grades and attendance, toward the desired certificate, 
credential, or degree.
    (c) The scholarship shall be sufficient to cover the cost 
of tuition and fees to attend the community college, but in no 
event shall the scholarship exceed $2,000 per scholarship 
recipient per academic year.
    The total amount of a scholarship awarded by the Commission 
under this Section to an individual in any given fiscal year, 
when added to other financial assistance awarded to that 
individual for that year, shall not exceed the cost of 
attendance at the community college at which the student is 
enrolled.
    (d) All applications for scholarships to be awarded under 
this Section shall be made to the Commission in a form as set 
forth by the Commission. The form of application and the 
information required to be set forth in the application shall 
be determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall 
require eligible applicants to submit with their applications 
such supporting documents as the Commission deems necessary.
    (e) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such 
purposes, payment of any scholarships awarded under this 
Section shall be determined by the Commission. All scholarship 
funds distributed in accordance with this Section shall be paid 
to the community college on behalf of the recipients. 
Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2 semesters of 
enrollment within an academic year. Up to 2% of the 
appropriation for this scholarship program may be used by the 
Commission for the costs of administering the scholarship 
program. If funds appropriated for the program are insufficient 
to provide grants to each eligible applicant, the Commission 
may prioritize the distribution of grants based on factors that 
include an applicant's financial need, duration of 
unemployment, prior level of educational attainment, or date of 
application.
    (f) The Commission shall adopt all necessary and proper 
rules not inconsistent with this Section for its effective 
implementation.


 
    Section 10. The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by 
changing Section 1900 as follows:
 


    (820 ILCS 405/1900)  (from Ch. 48, par. 640)




    Sec. 1900. Disclosure of information.

    A. Except as provided in this Section, information obtained 
from any
individual or employing unit during the administration 
of this Act shall:

        1. be confidential,

        2. not be published or open to public inspection,

        3. not be used in any court in any pending action or 
    proceeding,

        4. not be admissible in evidence in any action or 
    proceeding other than
one arising out of this Act.

    B. No finding, determination, decision, ruling or order 
(including
any finding of fact, statement or conclusion made 
therein) issued pursuant
to this Act shall be admissible or 
used in evidence in any action other than
one arising out of 
this Act, nor shall it be binding or conclusive except
as 
provided in this Act, nor shall it constitute res judicata, 
regardless
of whether the actions were between the same or 
related parties or involved
the same facts.

    C. Any officer or employee of this State, any officer or 
employee of any
entity authorized to obtain information 
pursuant to this Section, and any
agent of this State or of 
such entity
who, except with authority of
the Director under 
this Section, shall disclose information shall be guilty
of a 
Class B misdemeanor and shall be disqualified from holding any

appointment or employment by the State.

    D. An individual or his duly authorized agent may be 
supplied with
information from records only to the extent 
necessary for the proper
presentation of his claim for benefits 
or with his existing or prospective
rights to benefits.  
Discretion to disclose this information belongs
solely to the 
Director and is not subject to a release or waiver by the

individual.
Notwithstanding any other provision to the 
contrary, an individual or his or
her duly authorized agent may 
be supplied with a statement of the amount of
benefits paid to 
the individual during the 18 months preceding the date of his

or her request.

    E. An employing unit may be furnished with information, 
only if deemed by
the Director as necessary to enable it to 
fully discharge its obligations or
safeguard its rights under 
the Act.  Discretion to disclose this information
belongs solely 
to the Director and is not subject to a release or waiver by 
the
employing unit.

    F. The Director may furnish any information that he may 
deem proper to
any public officer or public agency of this or 
any other State or of the
federal government dealing with:

        1. the administration of relief,

        2. public assistance,

        3. unemployment compensation,

        4. a system of public employment offices,

        5. wages and hours of employment, or

        6. a public works program.

    The Director may make available to the Illinois Workers' 
Compensation Commission
information regarding employers for 
the purpose of verifying the insurance
coverage required under 
the Workers' Compensation Act and Workers'
Occupational 
Diseases Act.

    G. The Director may disclose information submitted by the 
State or any
of its political subdivisions, municipal 
corporations, instrumentalities,
or school or community 
college districts, except for information which
specifically 
identifies an individual claimant.

    H. The Director shall disclose only that information 
required to be
disclosed under Section 303 of the Social 
Security Act, as amended, including:

        1. any information required to be given the United 
    States Department of
Labor under Section 303(a)(6); and

        2. the making available upon request to any agency of 
    the United States
charged with the administration of public 
    works or assistance through
public employment, the name, 
    address, ordinary occupation and employment
status of each 
    recipient of unemployment compensation, and a statement of

    such recipient's right to further compensation under such 
    law as required
by Section 303(a)(7); and

        3. records to make available to the Railroad Retirement 
    Board as
required by Section 303(c)(1); and

        4. information that will assure reasonable cooperation 
    with every agency
of the United States charged with the 
    administration of any unemployment
compensation law as 
    required by Section 303(c)(2); and

        5. information upon request and on a reimbursable basis 
    to the United
States Department of Agriculture and to any 
    State food stamp agency
concerning any information 
    required to be furnished by Section 303(d); and

        6. any wage information upon request and on a 
    reimbursable basis
to any State or local child support 
    enforcement agency required by
Section 303(e); and

        7. any information required under the income 
    eligibility and
verification system as required by Section 
    303(f); and

        8. information that might be useful in locating an 
    absent parent or that
parent's employer, establishing 
    paternity or establishing, modifying, or
enforcing child 
    support orders
for the purpose of a child support 
    enforcement program
under Title IV of the Social Security 
    Act upon the request of
and on a reimbursable basis to
the 
    public
agency administering the Federal Parent Locator 
    Service as required by
Section 303(h); and

        9. information, upon request, to representatives of 
    any federal, State
or local governmental public housing 
    agency with respect to individuals who
have signed the 
    appropriate consent form approved by the Secretary of 
    Housing
and Urban Development and who are applying for or 
    participating in any housing
assistance program 
    administered by the United States Department of Housing and

    Urban Development as required by Section 303(i).

    I. The Director, upon the request of a public agency of 
Illinois, of the
federal government or of any other state 
charged with the investigation or
enforcement of Section 10-5 
of the Criminal Code of 2012 (or a similar
federal law or 
similar law of another State), may furnish the public agency

information regarding the individual specified in the request 
as to:

        1. the current or most recent home address of the 
    individual, and

        2. the names and addresses of the individual's 
    employers.

    J. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to interfere 
with the
disclosure of certain records as provided for in 
Section 1706 or with the
right to make available to the 
Internal Revenue Service of the United
States Department of the 
Treasury, or the Department of Revenue of the
State of 
Illinois, information obtained under this Act.

    K. The Department shall make available to the Illinois 
Student Assistance
Commission, upon request, information in 
the possession of the Department that
may be necessary or 
useful to the
Commission in the collection of defaulted or 
delinquent student loans which
the Commission administers.

    L. The Department shall make available to the State 
Employees'
Retirement System, the State Universities 
Retirement System, the
Teachers' Retirement System of the State 
of Illinois, and the Department of Central Management Services, 
Risk Management Division, upon request,
information in the 
possession of the Department that may be necessary or useful
to 
the System or the Risk Management Division for the purpose of 
determining whether any recipient of a
disability benefit from 
the System or a workers' compensation benefit from the Risk 
Management Division is gainfully employed.

    M. This Section shall be applicable to the information 
obtained in the
administration of the State employment service, 
except that the Director
may publish or release general labor 
market information and may furnish
information that he may deem 
proper to an individual, public officer or
public agency of 
this or any other State or the federal government (in
addition 
to those public officers or public agencies specified in this

Section) as he prescribes by Rule.

    N. The Director may require such safeguards as he deems 
proper to insure
that information disclosed pursuant to this 
Section is used only for the
purposes set forth in this 
Section.

    O. Nothing in this Section prohibits communication with an 
individual or entity through unencrypted e-mail or other 
unencrypted electronic means as long as the communication does 
not contain the individual's or entity's name in combination 
with any one or more of the individual's or entity's social 
security number; driver's license or State identification 
number; credit or debit card number; or any required security 
code, access code, or password that would permit access to 
further information pertaining to the individual or entity.

    P. (Blank).

    Q. The Director shall make available to an elected federal

official the name and address of an individual or entity that 
is located within
the jurisdiction from which the official was 
elected and that, for the most
recently completed calendar 
year, has reported to the Department as paying
wages to 
workers, where the information will be used in connection with 
the
official duties of the official and the official requests 
the information in
writing, specifying the purposes for which 
it will be used.
For purposes of this subsection, the use of 
information in connection with the
official duties of an 
official does not include use of the information in
connection 
with the solicitation of contributions or expenditures, in 
money or
in kind, to or on behalf of a candidate for public or 
political office or a
political party or with respect to a 
public question, as defined in Section 1-3
of the Election 
Code, or in connection with any commercial solicitation.  Any

elected federal official who, in submitting a request for 
information
covered by this subsection, knowingly makes a false 
statement or fails to
disclose a material fact, with the intent 
to obtain the information for a
purpose not authorized by this 
subsection, shall be guilty of a Class B
misdemeanor.

    R. The Director may provide to any State or local child 
support
agency, upon request and on a reimbursable basis, 
information that might be
useful in locating an absent parent 
or that parent's employer, establishing
paternity, or 
establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support orders.

    S. The Department shall make available to a State's 
Attorney of this
State or a State's Attorney's investigator,

upon request, the current address or, if the current address is

unavailable, current employer information, if available, of a 
victim of
a felony or a
witness to a felony or a person against 
whom an arrest warrant is
outstanding.

    T. The Director shall make available to the Department of 
State Police, a county sheriff's office, or a  municipal police 
department, upon request, any information concerning the 
current address and place of employment or former places of 
employment  of a person who is  required to register as a sex 
offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act that may be 
useful in enforcing the registration provisions of that Act.
    U. The Director shall make information available to the 
Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department 
of Human Services for the purpose of determining eligibility 
for public benefit programs authorized under the Illinois 
Public Aid Code and related statutes administered by those 
departments, for verifying sources and amounts of income, and 
for other purposes directly connected with the administration 
of those programs.
    V.  The Director shall make information available to the 
State Board of Elections as may be required by an agreement the 
State Board of Elections has entered into with a multi-state 
voter registration list maintenance system.
    W. The Director shall make information available to the 
State Treasurer's office and the Department of Revenue for the 
purpose of facilitating compliance with the Illinois Secure 
Choice Savings Program Act, including employer contact 
information for employers with 25 or more employees and any 
other information the Director deems appropriate that is 
directly related to the administration of this program.
    X. The Director shall make information available, upon 
request, to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the 
purpose of determining eligibility for the adult vocational 
community college scholarship program under Section 65.105 of 
the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. 
(Source: P.A. 99-571, eff. 7-15-16; 99-933, eff. 1-27-17; 
100-484, eff. 9-8-17.)