[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
91_SB1232
LRB9106624NTsb
1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance
2 Act by adding Section 55.5.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
6 is amended by adding Section 55.5 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 947/55.5 new)
8 Sec. 55.5. Violent death or disability of police officer
9 or fire officer education grant.
10 (a) Education grants shall be provided for any natural
11 child, legally adopted child, or child in the legal custody
12 of police officers and fire officers killed or permanently
13 disabled, with 90% to 100% disability, in the line of duty as
14 a result, directly or indirectly, of criminal acts of
15 violence directed toward the officer or another person:
16 (1) while employed by or in the voluntary service
17 of this State or any local public entity in this State;
18 or
19 (2) in retaliation for the officer performing his
20 or her official duties.
21 (b) Beneficiaries need not be residents of this State at
22 the time of enrollment in order to receive this grant.
23 (c) Beneficiaries are entitled to full payment of
24 tuition, room, board, book expenses, and mandatory fees
25 incurred for grade school, high school, and 120 hours of
26 undergraduate studies or the number of hours required for a
27 college or university degree at:
28 (1) any State sponsored Illinois school or any
29 institution of higher learning for either full or
30 part-time study;
31 (2) any private school or institution in the State
-2- LRB9106624NTsb
1 of Illinois at the rate established by the Commission; or
2 (3) any private, parochial, or other school or
3 institution of learning the beneficiary is enrolled in or
4 intended to be enrolled in at the rate necessary to
5 complete the beneficiary's education through the college
6 or university level; intent may be inferred from (i) the
7 enrollment of brothers, sisters, or other family members
8 in school and (ii) the education history of the parents
9 of the student, and there is a presumption that the
10 beneficiary would have continued in the same type of
11 school system through the completion of a college or
12 university education.
13 (d) Any grant under this Section is subject to the
14 recipient being a student in good standing and maintaining
15 satisfactory academic progress. If the recipient fails to be
16 in good standing or maintain satisfactory academic progress,
17 the benefits under this Section shall be suspended until such
18 good standing and satisfactory academic progress are
19 achieved.
20 (e) The recipient of any grant under this Section shall
21 be limited to those children described in subsection (a) of
22 this Section who were dependent on or were having their
23 education paid by the officer or whose education the officer
24 was legally responsible for at the time of the death or
25 disability of the officer.
26 (f) The benefits under this Section shall expire upon
27 the child attaining 25 years of age, unless the benefit
28 period is extended for good cause for a period of no more
29 than 2 years. In this subsection (f), "good cause" means
30 reasons beyond the recipient's control that prevent the
31 recipient from completing the education within the required
32 time period.
33 (g) The benefits of this Section shall be administered
34 by and paid out of funds available to the Commission and
-3- LRB9106624NTsb
1 shall accrue to the bona fide applicant without the
2 requirement of demonstrating financial need to qualify for
3 those benefits.
4 (h) Any person who causes the death or disability of an
5 officer as described in subsection (a) of this Section shall
6 be civilly liable to the State of Illinois for the
7 anticipated costs of education grants under this Section.
8 (i) Civil liability may be imposed under this Section
9 notwithstanding the fact that a criminal penalty may be
10 imposed for the same conduct of the person.
11 (j) Any person convicted in criminal court of a criminal
12 violation for the same acts that are the basis for an
13 education grant under this Section shall be deemed to be
14 civilly liable under subsection (h) of this Section. Any
15 judgment entered under this Section is deemed to be a form of
16 child support for the purposes of bankruptcy proceedings.
17 (k) This Section shall apply to any child of a deceased
18 or disabled officer who qualifies under this Section for an
19 education grant regardless of the date of death or disability
20 of the officer.