97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5036

 

Introduced 2/7/2012, by Rep. Daniel Biss

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/5

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


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A BILL FOR

 

HB5036LRB097 20059 NHT 65395 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 for
19the residents of the State will have to be expanded greatly to
20accommodate those persons, with an attendant sharp increase in
21the cost of educating them. A system of financial assistance of
22scholarships, grants, and loans for qualified residents of
23college age will enable them to attend qualified institutions

 

 

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1of their choice in the State, public or private. The adoption
2of new federal student loan legislation necessitates that the
3State update and broaden its system of financial student
4assistance.
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 their
16employees save through these prepaid programs.
17(Source: P.A. 96-198, eff. 8-10-09.)