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"Yes, this is a generous tax
credit," Blagojevich said. "But that's what makes it meaningful. For
many families, $1,000 is a mortgage payment. It's three or four or
five car payments. It's the electric bill for an entire year. For
many families, this is a tax credit that can help make the dream of
college affordable and the dream of college a reality. It's a tax
credit that helps parents who work hard, who love their children and
who want it better for their kids than they've had it for
themselves." The proposed tax credit would make a big difference
for Jennifer DeNeal and her family. DeNeal is a freshman studying a
major in political science and communications at Loyola University.
Her parents live in the southern Illinois town of Harrisburg, where
her father is a small-business owner and her mother a physician
assistant. "The governor's proposal for a college tuition tax credit
is definitely a great plan that will help pay for costs and
expenses," DeNeal said. "It will actually mean a lot to the families
who get it."
Her father, Tom DeNeal, concurred. "The governor's proposed
college tuition tax credit will help pay for books, transportation
and other costs," he said. "It will be very helpful. If it wasn't
for state aid, I could never afford to send my daughter to Loyola."
He has two more children he will be sending to college in the near
future.
A college tuition tax credit could also be critical for students
like Carlos Acevedo, a 24-year-old Chicago native who is a sophomore
at Columbia College Chicago, where he's studying journalism. Acevedo
initially went to the Lake County Community College but transferred
to Columbia and later on wants to go law school. Acevedo works 30
hours a week at a storage company to help self-fund his tuition,
while his parents, with whom he lives in Waukegan, help him pay for
books and others costs.
"It will be a big help for me and my parents right now, and I
know it can help my parents also further down the road, because they
are already thinking about college for my two sisters, Elizabeth and
Mary, who are 11 and 12," said Acevedo. "I'd like to thank Governor
Blagojevich for thinking about our needs."
To be eligible for the tax credit, students must be Illinois
residents attending Illinois public and private colleges and
universities that participate in the Illinois Monetary Award
Program. Students must be in their freshman or sophomore years and
must be enrolled in an undergraduate program for an associate's or
bachelor's degree. Freshmen must have obtained at least a B
grade-point average throughout high school, and sophomores must have
obtained at least a B average in their first year of college to
qualify. Students in certificate and graduate programs will not
qualify for the tax credit.
Parents would be able to claim the tax credit for each child
listed as a dependent on their tax forms. Students who are
self-funding their education can also take the credit themselves.
The credit will cover tuition and mandatory fees.
"Loyola University is delighted at the governor's support for
higher education and his commitment to make it easier for parents to
afford to send their children to college in Illinois," said Phil
Hale, vice president of public affairs for Loyola University. "We
are particularly pleased that the governor is advancing an
initiative that will help Illinois families to send children to
Illinois colleges and universities. Students tend to live and work
in the areas where they went to college, so initiatives like this
and the MAP program provide the additional element of helping
Illinois retain their best and brightest minds."
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 "This in an important initiative in support of Illinois families,
especially middle- and working-class families who are
disproportionately affected by the cost of higher education," said
Dr. Warrick L. Carter, president of Columbia College Chicago.
"Unlike the federal government, which continues to move away from
additional measures to support students seeking higher education,
the state of Illinois and Governor Blagojevich are to be commended
for this proactive proposal. This legislation will have an extremely
positive impact on students at Columbia College Chicago."
"We support the tuition tax credit because we think it is one
step in the right direction towards addressing the challenges facing
the Illinois higher education system," said David Tretter, president
of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities.
"Affordability continues to be the leading concern for both
traditional-aged undergraduate students as well as the growing
nontraditional older student population. Governor Blagojevich's
tuition tax credit proposal will provide some real help to Illinois
students, and we applaud him and thank him for his leadership. The
governor's plan will deliver real help to students in all three
sectors of the state's higher education system: private colleges,
public universities and community colleges. With a program that
supports students no matter where they go to college, he is
recognizing the fundamental obligation we have to help all
Illinoisans by increasing access to higher education."
"DePaul University's mission includes a strong commitment to
expand access to education, and we encourage state government
efforts to make college education more affordable," said J.D.
Bindenagel, DePaul's vice president of community, government and
international affairs.
The average annual cost in tuition and fees to attend a public
university in Illinois is more than $7,000, and the average cost for
private colleges is more than $18,000, according to Illinois Student
Assistance Commission data. Nationally, the average yearly cost in
tuition and fees for public universities is $9,200, and $24,000 for
private universities, according to the National Council of Education
Statistics.
A 2004 study from the National Center of Public Policy and Higher
Education revealed that parents in Illinois are devoting a growing
share of family income to send their children to public and private
four-year colleges and universities.
To help parents know how much sending their children to college
will cost, in 2003, Blagojevich signed the "Truth in Tuition" law,
locking in the cost of tuition for public institutions, which means
that the tuition students pay as freshmen is the same tuition they
pay as seniors. Additionally, the Illinois Monetary Award Program
helped almost 150,000 Illinois students pursue a college education
in 2004. But while Illinois helps working families afford college,
the most recent federal deficit reduction package pending in
Congress would cut financial aid by $13 billion.
Studies show a continuing gap between what working families can
afford and the cost of an undergraduate's education. Yet a
college-educated work force remains critical for the state's
economic future. Estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau show that
lifetime earnings are over $900,000 greater for a person with a
bachelor's degree versus a high school graduate.
[News release from the governor's
office]
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