Bill Text: IL HR0694 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges all municipalities and governments to provide all community college education at no cost.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0694 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HR0694-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The American Association of Community Colleges
(AACC) has identified 1,132 community colleges in the United
States, and 980 are public colleges; and
WHEREAS, Nearly half of all undergraduates in the United
States, or just over 13 million or 25% of all graduates, enroll
in community colleges; and
WHEREAS, 6,000 students from 10 community colleges in
California, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota,
Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, responding to a recent
North Carolina State University research team, identified the
top two reasons they find it difficult to complete community
college; the top two reasons, tied at 34% each, were having to
work and not being able to afford the expense; and
WHEREAS, In 1965, the average public college tuition was
$256 annually; today, the average annual public community
college tuition has risen to $3,347; and
WHEREAS, Individuals earning at least a two-year community
college degree will earn nearly $400,000 more over their career
than a person with a high school diploma; and

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WHEREAS, 44 million people in the U.S. are currently in
$1.48 trillion debt, and attending a community college could
cut down on cost and indebtedness, even for those choosing to
transfer credits to a four-year institution; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics cites that
some of the highest paying jobs in the United States will
increase over the decade and will require at least a two-year
college degree; and
WHEREAS, Economies once built on low skilled industries,
specifically in the south, must now compete globally for jobs
that require training beyond high school; and
WHEREAS, In 1944, U.S. Congress passed the G.I. Bill, which
provided free higher education to millions of World War II
veterans and was the most successful legislation in modern
history, laying the groundwork for the post war economic boom
and growth of the middle class; and
WHEREAS, The state of California did not begin to charge
for a college education until the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, Twenty states offer various forms of free
community college, including Arkansas, California, Delaware,
Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Memphis,

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Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee,
West Virginia, and Washington; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we urge all municipalities and state governments to provide
community college education at no cost; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge Congress to pass legislation
requiring all states to make community college free and to
provide the necessary supportive funding to assure its reality;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That we recognize the increased burden this will
place on our educational system and urge that two years at a
public university or college should be subsidized at a similar
rate to a local community college; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we recognize the effect that this could have
on historically black colleges and universities, as a
disproportionate share of their students struggle
economically, and to preserve the heritage and history of these
culturally significant educational institutions, we must also
increase funding to these institutions to support their
scholarship funds to maintain necessary enrollment; and be it
further

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RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
delivered to the President of the United States, the Vice
President of the United States, all members of the United
States House of Representatives and the United States Senate,
and other federal and state government officials and agencies
as appropriate.