On Aug. 14, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law the Illinois Career Preservation and Student Loan Repayment Act. The act moved through the legislature as Senate Bill 2439 and passed unanimously in the Senate and by a vote of 104-3 in the House.
The act provides that Illinois government agencies and boards can no longer deny, refuse to renew, suspend, revoke or take any other disciplinary action related to a person’s professional or occupational license because of a delinquency or default on a student loan guaranteed by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission or any other Illinois state agency.
The legislation was proposed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who was quoted as saying “[t]aking away debtors’ licenses punishes and prevents them from earning enough to live and make their loan payments. It is nonsensical.”
