Student Loan Forgiveness in Illinois

In 2018, Illinois is an amazing place to live because it has tons of open farmland, friendly people and an amazing quality of life, but it also offers several state-funded student loan forgiveness programs to residents who need help digging themselves out of college loan debt.

Anyone who lives in the Prairie State and is struggling with their student loans needs to pay attention to this post, because Illinois offers several of the country’s best student loan forgiveness programs to qualified individuals.

If you want to receive student loan forgiveness in Illinois, check out the currently available programs listed below, making sure to closely examine each program’s Eligibility Rules and Application Procedures so you can figure out if any of them apply to you.



Get Help With Your Loans!

If you're truly struggling with student loan debt, then you should consider paying a Student Loan Debt Relief Agency for help. Why? Because the people working at these companies deal with student loans all day, every day, and they're your best chance at figuring out how to get your loans back under control.

For help with Federal Student Loans call the Student Loan Relief Helpline at 1-888-906-3065. They will review your case, evaluate your options for switching repayment plans, consolidating your loans, or pursuing forgiveness benefits, then set you up to get rid of the debt as quickly as possible.

For help with Private Student Loans call McCarthy Law PLC at 1-877-317-0455. McCarthy Law will negotiate with your lender to settle your private loans for much less than you currently owe (typically 40%), then get you a new loan for the lower, settled amount so you can pay off the old loan, repair your credit and reduce your monthly payments.

I've spent 10 years interviewing debt relief agencies, talking to all sorts of "experts", and these are the only two companies that I trust to help my readers. If you have a bad experience with either of them, please make sure to come back and let me know about it in the Comments!


Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program

The Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program offers up to $5,000 in student loan forgiveness. To qualify for the Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program you must be an academically talented Illinois student willing to teach in low-income areas of the state.

Eligibility Rules

  • You must be a US citizen
  • You must be an Illinois resident
  • You must be a borrower who has had an amount of your educational loans forgiven under the federal government’s loan forgiveness programs
  • You must have a remaining balance on your loans
  • You must have fulfilled your five-year teaching obligation in an Illinois elementary or secondary school designated as a low-income school or have worked full time for 2 consecutive years in a child care facility that serves a low-income area in Illinois.

How to Apply


John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program

The John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program offers student loans forgiveness at up to $4,000 a year with a maximum of $60,000 in total lifetime benefits. It’s only available to Prosecutors and Public Defenders working in the Prairie State, and requires that you must agree to remain employed as a public defender or prosecutor within the state of Illinois for at least 3 years.

Eligibility Rules

  • You must be a US citizen or legal resident
  • You must have an outstanding balance on eligible loans
  • You must be an attorney (or have accepted an employment offer) continually licensed to practice law
  • You must be a full-time employee of the state of Illinois or unit of local government (including tribal government) who prosecutes criminal or juvenile delinquency cases at the state or unit of local government level
  • You must be a full-time employee of the state of Illinois or unit of local government (including tribal government) who provides legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases, or
  • You must be a full-time employee of an nonprofit organization operating under a contract with Illinois or unit of local government who devotes substantially all of the employee’s full-time employment to providing legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile cases, or
  • You must be employed in Illinois as a full-time federal defender attorney in a defender organization pursuant to Subsection (g) of section 3006A of Title 18, United States Code

How to Apply


Nurse Educator Loan Repayment Program

The Nurse Educator Loan Repayment Program offers student loan forgiveness benefits of up to $5,000 a year for a maximum of 4 years (that’s $20,000 in total forgiveness benefits). The Nurse Educator Loan Repayment Program is intended to pay off eligible loans as a way of incentivizing nursing faculty to maintain their teaching careers in Illinois.

Eligibility Rules

  • You must be a US Citizen or Legal Resident
  • You must be an Illinois resident
  • You must have an outstanding balance on an eligible loan
  • You must be a nurse educator who meets licensing requirements of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
  • You must have worked as a nurse educator instructing practical or professional nurses in an approved Illinois institution for at least the past 12 consecutive months prior to the date of each application for this program
  • You must not be in default on any federal guaranteed educational loan, nor owe a refund on any scholarship or grant program administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)

How to Apply


Veterans’ Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program

The Veterans’ Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program offers student loan forgiveness up to a $5,000 per year, for a maximum of 4 years (totaling $20,000 in forgiveness benefits). This program was created to provide an incentive to nurses to pursue and continue their careers in veterans’ homes within the state of Illinois.

Eligibility Rules

  • You must be a US citizen or legal resident
  • You must be an Illinois resident
  • You must have an outstanding balance on eligible loan
  • You must be a nurse who meets licensing requirements of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
  • You must be a nurse who has completed the prescribed employment probationary period and whose employment is in good standing as determined by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs
  • You must for each year during which an award is received, fulfill a separate 12 month period as a registered professional nurse or licensed practical nurse in an approved State of Illinois veterans’ home
  • You must not be in default on any federal guaranteed educational loan, nor owe a refund on any scholarship or grant program administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)

How to Apply



Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Assistance Program

Program Overview

The Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Assistance Program offers student loan forgiveness up to $6,000 per year, for a maximum of $30,000 during your career as an Attorney, and requires you to practice within the state of Illinois.

Eligibility Rules

 

  • You must be a licensed member of the Illinois Bar in good standing
  • You must have eligible debt in grace or repayment status
  • You must be employed as public interest attorney with a qualifying employer in Illinois

How to Apply



Will I Owe Taxes on My Forgiven Debt?

There is a distinct chance that you will have to pay taxes on any forgiven debt you receive.

Due to the IRS rules, any debt forgiveness you receive must be listed on your tax return as taxable income, so whatever amount of money you get forgiven, you’ll end up having to pay income taxes on it at the end of the year.

This can create a huge problem for borrowers who have been steadily making small, monthly payments against their student loans, who now end up owing a single, large payment to the IRS, and I think it’s such a big problem that I’ve created a specific page of my site to talk about, covering Student Loan Forgiveness & Taxable Income Laws.

I’ve also made a new website called Forget Tax Debt, which offers advice on all sorts of IRS-related problems, from IRS Tax Debt Forgiveness Benefits, to Filing & Paying IRS Back Taxes, and IRS Tax Debt Settlements.

If you are experiencing any trouble with the IRS, please visit www.forgettaxdebt.com for assistance.


Where Can I Go For Other Questions?

If you have general questions about student loans or student loan debt, make sure to check out the other pages of my website, which cover all sorts of topics related to student loans, loan forgiveness, discharges, and other similar topics.

For Help with Federal Loans, look at my pages on Federal Student Loan Forgiveness, The Borrower’s Defense Against to Program, the Closed School Loan Discharge Program, Federal Student Loan Bankruptcy Discharges, Federal Consolidation Programs and Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans.

For Help with Private Loans, visit my pages on Private Student Loan Forgiveness, Private Loan Consolidation Programs, Private Loan Bankruptcy Discharges and Private Student Loan Default Help.

If you still have any questions about IL student loan forgiveness programs or benefits, please feel free to leave them below in the comments section, and I will try to get to them within the next 24 hours.


Disclaimer:Information obtained from Forget Student Loan Debt is for educational purposes only. You should consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions. This site receives some compensation through affiliate relationships. This site is not endorsed or affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education.

By: 

Tim's experience struggling with crushing student loan debt led him to create the website Forget Student Loan Debt in 2011, where he offers advice, tips and tricks for paying off student loans as quickly and affordably as possible.