SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Last month, President Joe Biden announced his administration was forgiving billions in federal student loans. Now the White House has calculated the number of people who could benefit from it.
The White House estimates around 1,486,600 Illinoisans would be able to take advantage of the student loan forgiveness proposal. According to the most recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 12,671,469 people lived in Illinois in July 2021.
This would mean 11.73% of all Illinoisans could be eligible for getting $10,000 of student loans forgiven.
Additionally, 863,600 Pell Grant recipients in Illinois will get $20,000 of their loans forgiven.
Across the United States, more than 40 million are eligible for Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
College students across Illinois have been elated by the policy, like University of Illinois Springfield junior Madison Shaw, who’s grateful this plan would wipe out nearly all her loans.
“It would be a financial burden taken off from my family, not having to worry about paying all that money back after I graduate,” Shaw said. “Then I’d only have like a couple grand in student loans after I graduated.”
And unlike other states, the loan forgiveness won’t be taxable by state taxes in Illinois due to current Department of Revenue laws.
“Illinois residents who receive loan forgiveness will not be required to report that income on their Illinois taxes,” Maura Kownacki, an IDOR spokesperson, said.
To learn more about the federal student loan forgiveness, you can read the Department of Education’s fact sheet. You can also sign up for email updates from the Department of Education about updates on federal student loans forgiveness here.
