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1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans are important tools for |
3 | | Illinois families who want to save for their
children's college |
4 | | education; they offer a diverse range of investment options, |
5 | | tax-deferred growth, and
withdrawals free of state and federal |
6 | | taxes when those withdrawals are used for qualified higher |
7 | | education
expenses such as tuition, fees, books, certain room |
8 | | and board costs, computer equipment, and required
supplies; and
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9 | | WHEREAS, While the first college savings plans were |
10 | | developed by states in 1988 as innovative
programs designed to |
11 | | help families and students save for higher education expenses, |
12 | | it was not until the
enactment of Section 529 of the Internal |
13 | | Revenue Code by Congress in 1996 that college savings plans
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14 | | began to rapidly gain popularity across the country; and
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15 | | WHEREAS, Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia |
16 | | offer 529 college savings plans; 12.5
million 529 accounts have |
17 | | been opened, more than $253 billion dollars have been saved for |
18 | | future higher
education expenses, and more than one million |
19 | | students nationwide have withdrawn funds from 529
accounts to |
20 | | help pay higher education expenses; and
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21 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois currently offers three |
22 | | separate savings plans: the "College Illinois! 529
Prepaid |
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1 | | Tuition Program", which is administered by the Illinois Student |
2 | | Assistance Commission, and
the "Bright Start College Savings |
3 | | Plan" and the "Bright Directions College Savings Plan", which |
4 | | are
administered by the Illinois Treasurer; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans allow families to save |
6 | | for tuition at two-year and four-year
institutions, including |
7 | | vocational, trade, community, state, or technical schools; and
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8 | | WHEREAS, Illinois residents can claim a state tax deduction |
9 | | on contributions of up to $10,000 a year
($20,000 for married |
10 | | couples filing jointly) to any state plan; and
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11 | | WHEREAS, In 2000, the average tuition rate at an Illinois |
12 | | public university was $4,160, while the average
rate at a |
13 | | private four-year institution was $15,625; in 2018, those rates |
14 | | have skyrocketed to $15,182 for public
universities and $36,747 |
15 | | for private universities; and
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16 | | WHEREAS, Federal financial aid awards have shifted away |
17 | | from student grants and moved to providing access to
guaranteed |
18 | | student loans so that, today, nearly 63 percent of all federal |
19 | | financial aid is in the form of
loans, substantially increasing |
20 | | the number of college graduates who will face the burden of |
21 | | repaying
significant student loan debt upon entering the |
22 | | workforce; and
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1 | | WHEREAS, As of 2018, student loan debt has now reached $1.5 |
2 | | trillion nationally, which rose from
$548 billion in 2007, and |
3 | | more than 1.6 million Illinois residents have student loans |
4 | | totaling more than
$52 billion; and
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5 | | WHEREAS, When Illinoisans are burdened with student loan |
6 | | debt, they are not able to buy homes, cars,
and other products |
7 | | that boost our economy; and
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8 | | WHEREAS, College savings plans, such as CollegeIllinois!, |
9 | | Bright Start, and Bright Directions, help
families limit or |
10 | | eliminate future student loan debt by helping them save for |
11 | | future higher education
expenses; and
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12 | | WHEREAS, The contributions families make today pay off in |
13 | | the form of an increased earning potential
for their children |
14 | | in the future, with a college graduate earning an average of $1 |
15 | | million more than a high
school graduate during his or her |
16 | | career, according to the United States Census Bureau; and
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17 | | WHEREAS, May 29th is recognized nationally as 529 College |
18 | | Savings Day to help raise awareness
across the country of the |
19 | | importance of saving for college with the help of 529 college |
20 | | savings plans; therefore, be it
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1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
2 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE |
3 | | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare May 29, 2019 as 529 |
4 | | College Savings Day
in the State of Illinois; and be it further
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5 | | RESOLVED, That we urge all Illinoisans to explore the |
6 | | benefits that 529 college savings plans offer
families; and be |
7 | | it further
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8 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be |
9 | | delivered to the Governor of Illinois, the
Director of the |
10 | | Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the Treasurer of |
11 | | Illinois, and the
Director of the Board of Higher Education.
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