 Instead,
Corrigan, a Springfield mother of two, spent Monday at the
Illinois Capitol, pressing lawmakers for answers about the future of
the College Illinois program and the $22,000 Corrigan thought she
was spending on tuition."In our minds, it was a guarantee, a
contract that was backed by the state of Illinois," Corrigan said
during a House Republican task force hearing Monday. "We fulfilled
our part; every month we paid. Our daughter is fulfilling her part
of the bargain; she's working hard in school and preparing herself
for college and a career."
Now, Corrigan said she wants the state to live up to its end of
the bargain -- College Illinois must pay out for the parents who
bought in.
A House Republican task force met at the Statehouse as part of an
ongoing effort by state Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, to bring
transparency to College Illinois, a 529 prepaid college tuition
program that allows parents to invest money, or "buy" tuition at
current prices, to guard against the rising cost of college.
Corrigan said that's what attracted her to the program. Starting
in 1998, she paid $185 a month for 10 years -- $22,000 -- to
guarantee eight semesters at whichever state public university her
daughter would attend. A single year at the University of Illinois
now costs about $30,000.
But in reality, documents reviewed by Illinois Statehouse News in
May showed that College Illinois was nearly 20 percent underfunded
and a number of parents were removing their money from the system
out of fear of its collapse.
Corrigan understands the fear.
"Frankly, I can't imagine why anyone would enroll in (College
Illinois) today, knowing what we now know," Corrigan said.
But more than 54,000 families are enrolled in the program, said
Kym Hubbard, chairwoman of the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission, or ISAC, which oversees the College Illinois program.
Hubbard, who was named chairwoman by Gov. Pat Quinn in May, said
College Illinois has paid $85 million in tuition for 2011, adding
that the program has more than $1 billion in assets.
But Hubbard had few answers for lawmakers and parents wondering
about the future of College Illinois.
"We want to be as open and honest as we can, but we need some
additional information, so we don't have a specific statement that
we're making," Hubbard said Monday. "When we get the information, it
is my plan to personally make some type of statement, on the
website, about the program and the direction of the program."
[to top of second column] |
Lawmakers expected Hubbard to deliver a report on College
Illinois at the hearing, but she said details about the program will
not be available until at least November. One such detail that must
be addressed is the rate of return on College Illinois investments.
ISAC expected College Illinois investments to earn an 8.75
percent return. However, the program has earned closer to 3 percent
since College Illinois was created in 1998, according to ISAC's
annual reports.
State Rep. Sandy Cole, R-Grayslake, pushed Hubbard for a more
realistic rate of return.
"If the annual rate of return is not 8.75 percent, ... what do
you think it should be?" asked Cole.
"I think 7 percent is probably much closer to where it should
be," Hubbard said.
But state Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica, said even 7 percent may
be a bit optimistic.
"I would walk on my hands to get 7 percent. I just can't believe
that's realistic," Sacia said.
If ISAC is incorrect in assuming a rate of return, then the
financial woes for College Illinois could be much worse.
Hubbard said she would need to wait for an audit of the program
before providing more specific information, though she did not say
when she expects to have that audit in her hands.
And, it's not just Hubbard going over the books at College
Illinois with a fine-tooth comb.
The Illinois auditor general, the Illinois secretary of state and
the Illinois attorney general all have launched inquiries into the
program.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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