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Health & Fitness

Kotowski: Audit shows reforms needed to change 'business as usual'

Senator Kotowski discusses a recently released report by the Legislative Audit Commission, showing major problems in the College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program.

“This audit shows our ongoing obligation to change business as usual in Springfield. We must put an end to the reckless policies of the past,” State Senator Dan Kotowski

SPRINGFIELD, IL – On the heels of legislators’ requests last spring, an audit released this morning reveals some major problems in the College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program, which enables parents to lock in present tuition rates and then make payments toward their children's future tuition costs at Illinois colleges and universities.

State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge), a member of the Legislative Audit Commission, reacted with criticism and said more reforms are necessary to restore the public’s faith in government.

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“This audit shows our ongoing obligation to change business as usual in Springfield,” Senator Kotowkski said. “We must put an end to the reckless policies of the past. I’m pleased that ISAC has agreed to accept and implement the audit’s recommendations to serve as a guide to improve its business practices and stabilize the program.”

The Auditor General’s report looks at actions taken over a six-year period (July 2006 – June 2011) by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). The audit found that the former executive director of College Illinois didn’t disclose conflicts of interest. The program also reportedly ignored or changed its criteria for deciding how to invest money that participants put into the program. Meanwhile, costs nearly tripled in just five years.

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Since the spring of 2011, ISAC has made a number of changes and implemented safeguards on its own. Some of the reforms include replacing the Commission Chair and appointing a new ISAC Interim Executive Director, replacing the entire sitting Commission Board members, and hiring a new Chief Investment Officer to manage the College Illinois! trust fund.

ISAC has also certified to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Illinois Board of Higher Education that the program will meet all obligations for Fiscal Year 2013, which begins in June.

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