A new bill proposed by Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) aimed at curbing alleged predatory lending to college students survived a second reading and now sits in the Rules Committee in Springfield.
Similar proposals in other states are often derided by critics as government babysitting.
House Bill 1581 would create the College Student Credit Card Marketing and Debt Task Force, as the General Assembly’s website reports. The law creates the temporary task force and assigns it to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for support and oversight.
This new task force would exist until Dec. 14, 2019, and would complete a study of student credit card debt according to parameters outlined in the bill. Once the study is complete, the law provides for the task force’s dissolution by Nov. 1, 2020. It would create a new statute, 110 ILCS 26/40.
Scherer, a former teacher representing the 96th District, took office in 2012. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Illinois State University and Eastern Illinois University, respectively.
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