Scott Reeder
SPRINGFIELD – Imagine a state government with the worst credit rating in the nation, borrowing money to pay off the personal debts of individuals with six-digit incomes buying homes that cost as much as $500,000.
Make much sense? Nope. But that’s exactly what the state of Illinois is doing.
Two years ago, Illinois lawmakers passed the $45 billion Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan. It was a bipartisan proposal negotiated behind closed doors and designed to pay for repairing highways, building bridges and erecting public buildings. But the plan also set aside $25 million to forgive student loan debt.
The SmartBuy program pays off as much as $40,000 in student loans if the debtor buys a home in Illinois and holds it for three years. Another $5,000 is available as a no-interest loan for a down payment or closing costs.
This state must address blank check mindset sj-r.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sj-r.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
What word pops to mind when you think about paid family leave, child care subsidies, and universal Pre-K education? If you said “infrastructure,” then you must be in the Biden administration.
Current student loan system encourages debt thetelegraph.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thetelegraph.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
HERITAGE IMPACT
April 19th, 2021 A spate of new school choice bills enacted across the nation reflect recommendations made by Heritage Foundation education experts.
A spate of new school choice bills enacted across the nation reflect recommendations made by Heritage Foundation education experts.
In West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice recently signed the Hope Scholarship bill that creates a universal education savings account (or ESA) program that allows parents to use their share of state education funds for approved non-public educational expenses such as private-school tuition and home-schooling materials.
Jonathan Butcher, an education fellow at The Heritage Foundation, was the first to push for ESAs in West Virginia and spoke to state government officials there numerous times between 2016 and 2021. In a publication by the Cardinal Institute, a West Virginia-based think tank, Butcher argued that ESAs are an effect