Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 52, December 27, 2024
a)
Eligible educational loans include:
1) Federal
Stafford Loans;
2) Federal Graduate
PLUS Loans;
3) Federal
consolidation loans;
4) Law school
student loans;
5) Federal
Supplemental Loans for Students;
6)
Private/alternative loans; and
7)
Other types of educational loans made by government or commercial lending
institutions or educational institutions.
b) Non-eligible loans include:
2) Loans that have been paid in
full;
3) Loans obtained from family
members or a private individual;
4)
Any portion of a consolidated loan that is not the applicant's; and
5) Any portion of a loan that is fully
forgiven by a state or federal government or a lending institution through a
comparable repayment or forgiveness program.
c) All applicants annually must complete an
ISAC application/promissory note for the loan repayment program. The qualified
applicant must sign a promissory note that stipulates the loan repayment
assistance is in the form of a forgivable loan.
1) The application/promissory note is
available at ISAC's web site and ISAC's Springfield, Deerfield and Chicago
offices.
2) If the
application/promissory note is incomplete, ISAC will notify the applicant, who
will have an opportunity to furnish the missing information. The application
will be considered for processing only as of the date it is complete and
received at ISAC's Deerfield office.
3) Applicants must use the proceeds from
assistance provided under this Part for the purpose of making payments to the
loan holders of their eligible educational loans.
4) The applicant shall submit eligibility
information prior to June 1 so there is sufficient time for ISAC to disburse
monetary assistance each year the forgivable loans are made.
d) Selection of Recipients for
Forgivable Loans
1) ISAC shall select the
recipients from those who have submitted a complete application/promissory
note, with all required documentation, and the application/promissory note is
received in ISAC's Deerfield office by the published due date. Applicants who
filed renewal applications by the published due date and have complied with the
information in subsection (c) have priority consideration. Selection is then
made from among qualified new applicants.
2) The total number of payments made for
qualified applicants in a given fiscal year is contingent upon available
funding. If funding is insufficient to make forgivable loans to all eligible
applicants, first preference in the selection process is given to renewal
applicants who meet the requirements outlined in subsection (d)(1). Priority,
in combination with the following criteria, is then given to those who file
timely applications and receive the highest point totals according to the
following criteria:
A) Salary level at time
of application: 0-40 points, reflecting salary of applicants from highest (0
points) to lowest (40 points);
B)
Eligible debt at time of application: 0-30 points, reflecting debt of
applicants from lowest (0 points) to highest (30 points);
C) Years of service as a public interest
attorney at time of application: point value equal to number of years of
service; and
D) Availability of
other loan repayment assistance during award year: 15 points when no other
assistance is available.
3) If all other criteria are equal, selection
is made by lottery.
e)
Loan repayment assistance is in the form of a forgivable loan. The amount for a
recipient shall not exceed $6,000 per year, up to a maximum of $30,000 during
the recipient's career.
f) The
forgivable loan proceeds shall be remitted to the qualified
applicant.
g) To have the loan
forgiven, the recipient must:
1) complete a
year of employment with a qualifying employer; and
2) make educational debt payments (interest
or principal or both) that equal at least the amount of assistance received
under the program during the assistance year.
h) A recipient must respond to any
notifications from ISAC and must notify ISAC of changes to his or her address
or employment status within 10 days after a change.
i) If the recipient becomes ineligible or
does not make educational debt payments as prescribed in subsection (g), he or
she can no longer receive benefits and must repay any amounts received under
the program that are outstanding, plus interest at a rate of five percent and,
if applicable, reasonable collection fees.
1)
If the recipient must repay the forgivable loan, repayment status will begin on
the earliest of the following dates:
A) the
first day of the first calendar month after the recipient has ceased to
practice as a public interest attorney as defined in Section
2756.15; or
B) the date the recipient informs ISAC that
he or she does not plan to fulfill his or her practice obligation; or
C) the first day of the first calendar month
after the recipient fails to make educational debt payments (interest or
principal or both) that equal at least the amount of assistance received under
the program during the assistance year.
2) The repayment period shall be completed
within five years.
3) A recipient
shall not be required to repay the educational loan received under this Part if
he or she becomes permanently totally disabled, as established by the sworn
affidavit of a qualified physician, or if his or her representative provides
ISAC with a death certificate or other evidence that the recipient has
died.
4) No claim for repayment may
be filed against the estate of a decedent or incompetent.