Bill Text: IL HB5491 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Engrossed

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

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2026-06-01 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [HB5491 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB5491-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 5. The Workforce Development through Charitable
Loan Repayment Act is amended by changing Section 10-10 as
follows:
(110 ILCS 998/10-10)
Sec. 10-10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission.
"Full-time employee" means an individual who is employed
for consideration for at least 35 hours each week.
"Program" means the Workforce Development Through
Charitable Loan Repayment Program established under this Act.
"Qualified community foundation" has the meaning given to
that term in Section 170-5 of the Illinois Gives Tax Credit Act
means a community foundation or similar publicly supported
organization described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that (i) is organized or
operating in this State, (ii) substantially complies, as
determined by the Commission, with the national standards for
United States community foundations established by the
Community Foundations National Standards or a successor

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entity, and (iii) is approved by the Commission for
participation in the Program as provided in Section 10-17.
"Qualified worker" means an individual who meets all of
the following:
(1) the individual is a full-time employee of a
business that meets one or more of the following:
(A) the business is a qualified new business
venture that is registered with the Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity under Section 220 of
the Illinois Income Tax Act;
(B) the business is primarily engaged in a
targeted growth industry;
(C) the business is a minority-owned business, a
women-owned business, or a business owned by a person
with a disability, as those terms are defined in the
Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons
with Disabilities Act; or
(D) the business is a not-for-profit corporation,
as defined in the General Not For Profit Corporation
Act of 1986;
(2) the individual is employed by the business
described in paragraph (1) at a job site that is located in
an Enterprise Zone, an Opportunity Zone, an underserved
area, or an area that has a bachelor's degree attainment
rate for the population that is below the State or
national average for the population, as determined by the

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United States Census Bureau; and
(3) the individual (i) received an associate degree or
higher and has an outstanding balance due on a qualified
education loan, as defined in Section 221 of the Internal
Revenue Code, or (ii) accrued educational debt while
pursuing skilled trades and related schooling.
"Student loan repayment assistance" means grants or
post-graduation scholarships made by a community foundation
directly to a student loan servicer on behalf of a qualified
worker.
"Targeted growth industry" means one or more of the
following:
(1) advanced manufacturing;
(2) agribusiness and food processing;
(3) transportation distribution and logistics;
(4) life sciences and biotechnology;
(5) business and professional services; or
(6) energy.
"Underserved area" has the meaning given to that term in
Section 5-5 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy
Tax Credit Act.
(Source: P.A. 103-592, eff. 6-7-24.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.