SPRINGFIELD – To make tuition more affordable for working families, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) has advanced a measure allowing residents to deposit inheritance into qualified tuition programs.

“Expanding qualified tuition plans supports working families as they explore education goals with their students,” Glowiak Hilton. “By creating a simpler path to afford tuition, our state is actively working to encourage more Illinoisans to enroll in higher education.”

As written, the Probate Act of 1975 allows estates to be deposited if it’s practical and only consists of funds. Glowiak Hilton’s proposal expands current law to allow the estates of deceased family members to be deposited into qualified tuition programs without additional obstacles.

Qualified tuition programs allow contributors to support a beneficiary's higher education expenses. Earnings accumulate tax free while in the account.

“Access to higher education is critical for economic prosperity, but affordability is equally important,” Glowiak Hilton. “By allowing residents to use inheritance for higher education costs without barriers from the state, we hope to encourage more kids to think about attending college.”

House Bill 814 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday and moves for further consideration before the full Senate.

OAKBROOK TERRACE – State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) commends the nearly 900 high school students in the 24th District who were named 2021-22 Illinois State Scholars by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

“This prestigious award is a reflection of hard work, dedication and resilience throughout the pandemic, and I couldn’t be more proud of the students from our community who earned the honor,” Glowiak Hilton said. “With the support of their families, teachers and administrators, these students have shown an unwavering commitment to achievement despite the many challenges they’ve faced over the last year.”

Illinois State Scholar winners rank in approximately the top 10% of the state’s high school seniors from 676 high schools in all 102 counties. Selection is based on a combination of standardized test scores and class rank or unweighted GPA at the end of the student’s junior year. ISAC works in conjunction with the students’ high school guidance counselors to determine the winners.

SPRINGFIELD – To protect residents from being misled by phone scams, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) has advanced a bipartisan initiative out of the Senate to outlaw scam call operators from disguising their identity by having a false telephone number show up on caller ID.  

“As more aspects of our lives become digital, scammers use deceitful tricks to persuade residents into giving them personal information,” Glowiak Hilton said. “By prohibiting automated solicitors from falsifying caller ID, we can help protect residents from falling victim to telephone scams.”

In Illinois, the Telephone Solicitations Act requires a live operator to state his or her name, the organization they are representing, and the purpose for the call. The law also prohibits a solicitor from manipulating caller ID, commonly known as spoofing. However, current state law does not address when the caller is not a live operator.

To protect consumers, Glowiak Hilton’s initiative requires the operator of any soliciting telephone call to immediately state the affiliated business and the purpose of the call, and to confirm consent from the receiver.

“Deceitful business practices like spoofing are wrong and must be outlawed,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Call authentication is critical for protecting consumers against scammers who mask their identity and intentionally seek to defraud vulnerable residents.”

Senate Bill 2225 passed the Senate and moves for further deliberation in the House.

SPRINGFIELD – More survivors of violent crime would be able to keep their home addresses private as participants in the Illinois Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) under a proposal from State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) to expand protections for survivors of human trafficking.

“Violent crime survivors undergo substantial emotional and mental trauma,” Glowiak Hilton said. “By adding human trafficking to the list of crimes protected by the ACP, we’re offering survivors some peace of mind that their sensitive personal information is safe and protected against abusers.”

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure students experiencing homelessness are aware of available resources, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) advanced a bipartisan initiative out of the Senate to require higher education institutions to designate one employee to serve as a housing insecurity liaison.

“Oftentimes students without permanent housing are not aware of the resources available to them on campus and in their communities,” Glowiak Hilton said. “By creating a housing insecurity liaison, we are working to prevent homeless students from falling through the cracks by connecting them with aid.”

A study by the University of Chicago found that 4.2 million youth and young adults experienced homelessness during a 12-month period, and that nearly 29% of all young adults who experienced homelessness were enrolled in college or another educational program at the time.

Glowiak Hilton’s legislation requires each institution to appoint a Housing and Opportunities Useful for Students' Excellence (HOUSE) liaison. Their responsibilities would include identifying appropriate services, understanding aid eligibility, tracking graduation and retention rates, reporting the number of students using homelessness resources, and developing a plan to provide access to on-campus housing between academic breaks to homeless students enrolled at the institution.

Under the legislation, higher education institutions would also be required to provide information about available services and assistance regarding homelessness in financial aid and admission packets, as well as on the institution's website.

“Stable housing is foundational to academic and social success,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Creating this position is one step toward combatting homelessness for students and ensuring they have access to better opportunities.”

Senate Bill 190 passed the Senate and moves for further consideration in the House.

OAKBROOK TERRACE – To prevent residents from being misled by phone scams, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) has advanced an initiative with bipartisan support to outlaw scam call operators from disguising their identity by having a false telephone number show up on caller ID.  

“As technology advances, scammers use creative, deceitful tactics to trick residents into giving them personal information,” Glowiak Hilton said. “By prohibiting automated solicitors from falsifying caller ID, I hope to protect residents from falling victim to telephone scams.”

OAKBROOK TERRACE – State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) is announcing that school districts in the 24th District will receive an estimated total of $30,551,639 in additional funding to help address the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Thank you, teachers, administrators, students and parents for your sacrifices over the last year to maintain a safe, beneficial learning environment,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Your efforts have saved lives, and it is a relief to see these investments in our local school districts to help our education system recover.” 

The funding comes as part of the most recent federal COVID-19 relief packages. Schools, students and parents have overcome challenges that no one could have imagined before the pandemic began, including remote and hybrid learning, digital connection issues, new processes for receiving state and federal aid that normally flow through schools, and more.

Local school districts are set to receive the following amounts:

• Western Springs School District 101 -  $1,186,905
• Glen Ellyn School District 41 -  $3,595,263
• Lombard School District 44 -  $3,560,759
• Butler School District 53 -  $219,993
• Maercker School District 60 -  $1,779,838
• Hinsdale Township High School District 86 -  $2,921,792
• Glenbard Township High School District 87 -  $9,065,618
• Community Consolidated School District 89 -  $1,741,161
• Westmont Community Unit School District 201 -  $1,702,453
• Lisle Community Unit School District 202 -  $1,675,038
• Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 -  $3,102,819

The majority of the funding comes from the American Rescue Plan, which gives local schools a great deal of flexibility in how they can use the money over the next 3 ½ years. At least 20% of the funding must be used to address learning loss, but beyond that, school districts can use the money to address many different issues and costs. For example, it can be used to better equip schools for safe learning, to prevent layoffs, to address students’ social and emotional needs, to fund summer programs, or to ensure all students have access to reliable Wi-Fi and technology.

The State Board of Education, in collaboration with other state agencies that address education, has produced a guide for local school districts to help them decide how to best use their resources. While the guide and other state-sponsored services are completely voluntary, the state aims to support local districts during this difficult time.

“An end may be in sight; however, our work to eradicate the pandemic is not over yet,” Glowiak Hilton said. “I encourage residents to continue wearing masks and social distancing. We are strongest when we work together to keep our neighbors and communities safe.”

In total, Illinois received nearly $7 billion to support local school districts.

SPRINGFIELD – To ensure students experiencing homelessness are aware of available resources, State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs) advanced an initiative to require higher education institutions to designate one employee to serve as a housing insecurity liaison.

“Our state’s higher education system has a responsibility to fight our youth homelessness crisis and provide students with safe places to live,” Glowiak Hilton said. “Just one trusted employee could prevent homeless students from falling through the cracks by connecting them with aid.”