Bill Text: IL HB1316 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning unfair labor practice procedures.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-1)

Status: (Failed) 2019-01-08 - Session Sine Die [HB1316 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HB1316-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. This Act may be referred to as the College
Affordability Act.
Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Sections 5.878, 5.879, 5.880, and 5.881 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.878 new)
Sec. 5.878. The College Affordability Fund.
(30 ILCS 105/5.879 new)
Sec. 5.879. The Work-Study Fund.
(30 ILCS 105/5.880 new)
Sec. 5.880. The College Affordability Purchasing Fund.
(30 ILCS 105/5.881 new)
Sec. 5.881. The Illinois Excellence Fund.
Section 10. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by
adding Section 9.36 as follows:

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(110 ILCS 205/9.36 new)
Sec. 9.36. Illinois Excellence Program.
(a) Subject to appropriation, the Board shall establish and
administer a program, to be called the Illinois Excellence
Program, to incentivize the recruitment and retention of
promising faculty throughout the Illinois system of higher
education through the award of faculty and department incentive
grants.
The Program shall focus on personnel incentives designed to
attract and retain sought-after faculty to the Illinois system
of higher education.
(b) The Illinois Excellence Fund is created as a special
fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund may be used,
subject to appropriation, by the Board of Higher Education for
the administration of the Illinois Excellence Program.
Section 15. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
amended by adding Section 23 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/23 new)
Sec. 23. College Affordability programs.
(a) In this Section:
"Continuous enrollment" means a student has attended
classes in the fall and spring semester of a single academic
year; enrollment in summer semester or intersession terms is
not required.

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"Public institution" means the University of Illinois,
Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University,
Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University,
Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University,
Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, any
public community college in this State, or any other public
university, college, or community college now or hereafter
established or authorized by the General Assembly.
"Student aid" means scholarships and grants, other than a
College Affordability grant, awarded to the student from any
source that does not require repayment and half of a student's
federally calculated expected family contribution; "student
aid" does not include student loans and work-study awards.
(b) The Commission shall implement and administer a
program, beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year, to award
College Affordability grants to all eligible Illinois
residents seeking an associate or bachelor's degree, as
applicable, from a public institution. The following terms and
conditions shall apply to the program:
(1) To be eligible for a grant, a student must (i) have
been an Illinois resident for at least 2 years immediately
prior to applying for a grant, (ii) have graduated from an
approved high school with a cumulative grade point average
of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent, as
determined by the Commission), (iii) have an annual family
income of $125,000 or less, and (iv) be admitted to and

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enrolled full-time, as an Illinois resident, in a public
institution in the fall term after graduating from high
school. Exceptions to initial enrollment may be made for
extenuating circumstances as provided in rules adopted by
the Commission.
(2) Students applying for a grant shall complete the
College Affordability grant application in their initial
semester of enrollment. Students shall complete the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid each academic year in
which they seek to receive a grant.
(3) To continue to receive a grant, a student must
maintain Illinois residency, as well as a cumulative grade
point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its
equivalent, as determined by the Commission).
(4) Each academic year, subject to money appropriated
by the General Assembly from the College Affordability
Fund, a grant shall be equal to the cost of tuition and
mandatory fees at the public institution attended less all
other student aid, as determined by the Commission. For the
2018-2019 academic year, if grants are awarded under this
Section, the total amount of institutional aid awarded
directly by a public institution to its students in the
form of scholarships, grants, and waivers must be no less
than the total amount of such institutional aid awarded by
that public institution for the 2017-2018 academic year.
For the 2019-2020 academic year and each academic year

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thereafter for which grants are awarded under this Section,
the total amount of institutional aid that must be awarded
under this paragraph (4) shall be adjusted for inflation as
determined by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers as determined by the United States Department of
Labor. Student aid shall be credited first to the student's
tuition and mandatory fees. The amount of the grant may be
based on the annual family income of the student, as
determined by the Commission, but in no event may a grant
exceed $4,000. Each public institution shall annually
report its undergraduate tuition rate for Illinois
residents and the number of its undergraduates who are
Illinois residents to the Commission.
(5) A student awarded a grant who has an approved
medical or personal leave of absence from a public
institution may continue to receive the grant upon resuming
the student's education at the public institution so long
as the student continues to meet all applicable eligibility
requirements under this Section and as adopted by the
Commission. The total of all approved leaves of absence may
not exceed 6 months.
(6) A student is eligible for a grant until the
occurrence of the first of the following events:
(A) the student has earned a bachelor's degree; or
(B) the sum of the number of years the student has
attended a public institution equals 6 years from the

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date of the student's initial enrollment at a public
institution, exclusive of approved leaves of absence,
except that no more than 3 of those years may be for
attendance at a public community college.
(7) Except for a medical or personal leave of absence,
as approved by a public institution, a student awarded a
grant under this Section shall maintain continuous
enrollment at a public institution.
(8) A student awarded a grant under this Section shall
participate in a student loan counseling program through
the Commission. This program may be completed online.
(c) In awarding grants under this Section, the Commission
shall, by rule, develop the selection and renewal criteria for
students.
(d) Prior to receiving grant assistance for any academic
year, each recipient of a grant awarded under this Section
shall be required by the Commission to sign an agreement under
which the recipient pledges that, beginning within the one-year
period following the termination of the academic program for
which the recipient was awarded a grant, the recipient shall
reside in this State for a period of not less than 2 years. If
the recipient is 26 years old or younger, his or her parent or
guardian must also sign the agreement, agreeing to repay any
amounts that the recipient does not repay under subsection (e)
of this Section. Each recipient shall, upon request of the
Commission, provide the Commission with evidence that he or she

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is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the agreement
provided for in this subsection (d).
(e) If a recipient of a grant awarded under this Section
fails to fulfill the residency obligation set forth in
subsection (d) of this Section, the Commission shall require
the recipient to repay, without interest, the amount of the
grants received, prorated according to the fraction of the
obligation not completed, and, if applicable, reasonable
collection fees. The Commission shall allow the recipient to
repay one-tenth of the amount owed each year for 10 years. The
Commission is authorized to establish rules relating to its
collection activities for repayment of grants under this
Section.
(f) A recipient of a grant awarded by the Commission under
this Section is not in violation of the agreement entered into
pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section if the recipient (i)
is serving as a member of the armed services of the United
States; (ii) is enrolled in a graduate program following
graduation from a public university; (iii) is temporarily
totally disabled, as established by sworn affidavit of a
qualified physician; or (iv) cannot fulfill the residency
obligation due to his or her death, disability, or
incompetency, as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified
physician. No claim for repayment may be filed against the
estate of such a decedent or incompetent. Any extension of the
period during which the residency requirement must be fulfilled

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is subject to limitations of duration as established by the
Commission.
(g) The College Affordability Fund is created as a special
fund in the State treasury. The Fund shall consist of money
appropriated by the General Assembly and any gifts, bequests,
or donations made to the Fund. All money in the Fund shall only
be used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for the
purposes of awarding grants under this Section.
(h) Subject to appropriation from the Work-Study Fund, the
Commission shall implement and administer a program in which
the Commission shall award work-study stipends to applicants
who are recipients of grants under this Section and who agree
to work for 5 to 15 hours per week as peer mentors or tutors for
other grant recipients under this Section under a work-study
program established by the public institution. Eligibility for
a stipend shall be based on the applicant's merit and the
amount appropriated in a given fiscal year. The Commission
shall establish an annual deadline for applying for a stipend.
The Work-Study Fund is created as a special fund in the
State treasury. All money in the Fund shall be used, subject to
appropriation, by the Commission for the purposes of this
subsection (h).
(i) Subject to appropriation from the College
Affordability Purchasing Fund, the Commission shall implement
and administer a program in which the Commission shall buy out
the private student loans of any eligible participant that the

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eligible participant incurred to attend a public institution.
The Commission may establish its own separate repayment
conditions, but the Commission must set a 0% interest rate on
any loans it buys out. In order to be eligible to participate
in the program established under this subsection (i), the
participant (1) must have graduated from a public institution
before the start of the 2018-2019 academic year with a
cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
(or its equivalent, as determined by the Commission) and (2)
must be currently repaying any federal student loans incurred
to attend a public institution on an income-based repayment
plan.
The College Affordability Purchasing Fund is created as a
special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall
be used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for the
purposes of this subsection (i).