Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to grants for exonerated persons. Provides that a grant applicant need not be a resident of this State at the time of enrollment. Provides that, beginning no later than the 2025-2026 academic year, if an exonerated person has been found by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to qualify for a grant and the exonerated person has not yet exhausted the benefits for which the exonerated person is eligible, the exonerated person may designate one or more dependents to use any unexpended portion of the benefits for which the exonerated person is eligible, up to the total benefit for which the exonerated person is eligible. Provides that the combined benefit used by the exonerated person and any designated dependents may not exceed the total benefit for which the exonerated person is eligible. Provides that if funding is insufficient to serve all applicants, the Commission may prioritize applicants who have been exonerated over applicants who are dependents of exonerated individuals. Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. In provisions concerning a petition for a certificate of innocence, provides that the clerk of the circuit court shall provide to a person whose records were expunged and sealed information about grants for exonerated persons and their dependents under the Higher Education Student Assistance Act and the address of the Internet website of the Commission, where additional information about the grants may be obtained.
House Floor Amendment No. 1: In the provisions relating to grants for exonerated persons and their dependents in the Higher Education Student Assistance Act, provides that, beginning with grants awarded for the 2025-2026 academic year, a grant under the provisions may also be used at any private, not-for-profit college or university in this State that is approved to participate in the Monetary Award Program. Limits the payment to a recipient attending a private, not-for-profit college or university to a payment of tuition and mandatory fees in an amount not to exceed the maximum grant payable to a student enrolled in the most expensive comparable program of study at a public college or university in this State. In the provisions concerning a petition for a certificate of innocence in the Code of Civil Procedure, provides that the clerk of the circuit court shall post in common areas of the courthouse a notice containing (rather than also provide to a person whose records were expunged and sealed) information about grants for exonerated persons and their dependents under the Higher Education Student Assistance Act, including the Internet address of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (rather than the address of the Internet website where additional information about the grants may be obtained). Provides that the Commission shall develop a uniform statewide notice and provide the format of the notice to each clerk.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 110 ILCS 947/62, 735 ILCS 5/2
Engrossed: 110 ILCS 947/62, 735 ILCS 5/2
Enrolled: 110 ILCS 947/62, 735 ILCS 5/2
Public Act: 110 ILCS 947/62, 735 ILCS 5/2