* Press release…

Today, Governor Bruce Rauner issued an amendatory veto of House Bill 302, bipartisan legislation that amends the Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act to further protect families from unscrupulous practices by insurance companies that have withheld millions of dollars in unclaimed cash and assets from consumers across the state.

HB 302 was sponsored by State Senator Jacqueline Collins and State Representative Robert Martwick, and championed by Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs. The legislation would require insurance companies to compare lapsed policies going back to 2000 against the Social Security Death Master File (DMF) to verify that a policyholder has passed, and that benefits have been paid.

During the legislative session, Illinois PIRG organized a letter of support from consumer and low income advocacy organizations including AARP, Center for Changing Lives, Center for Economic Progress, Heartland Alliance, Housing Action Illinois, Illinois Asset Building Group, Northwest Side Housing Center, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and Woodstock Institute.

In response to the veto, Illinois PIRG Director Abe Scarr issued the following statement:

We are disappointed Governor Rauner has turned away consumers seeking to reclaim the benefits to which they are entitled as the rightful owners, heirs, or beneficiaries of life insurance policies. His veto and amendment attacking independent, third-party auditors, contracted by the state to enforce compliance with unclaimed property law, places the priorities of insurance companies – many of whom have a documented history of predatory practices – ahead of grieving families. We will continue to work with allies to amend Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act to more effectively return cash and assets to their rightful owners.

* Treasurer Michael Frerichs…

“Today, Governor Bruce Rauner put corporate profits over people. He sided with greedy life insurance companies that line their pockets with death benefits they should have paid out to loved ones. But he did more than that. With a stroke of his pen, he is trying to take away the tool our office uses to catch any company in the act.”

* AG’s office…

Attorney General Lisa Madigan today denounced Governor Rauner’s veto of the Illinois Student Loan Bill of Rights that was passed to crack down on the student loan servicing industry that has made it more difficult and more expensive for Illinois borrowers to repay their loans. Madigan encouraged the General Assembly to override the governor’s veto and protect borrowers, their families and the state’s economy.

The Illinois Student Loan Bill of Rights, Senate Bill 1351, was drafted by Madigan’s office and sponsored by Sen. Daniel Biss and Rep. Will Guzzardi to address widespread abuses and failures in the student loan industry. These abuses were revealed by Madigan’s investigation and lawsuit against one of the country’s largest student loan servicing companies, Navient.

“Today Gov. Rauner failed to stand up for struggling student loan borrowers, their families and our state’s economy. His veto of the Student Loan Bill of Rights shows he doesn’t care about the financial reality that student loan borrowers face and has instead sided with large corporations that put their profits before their customers,” Madigan said. “My investigation into the student loan industry revealed that student borrowers were forced into expensive repayment plans they cannot afford. These abusive practices prevent borrowers from achieving their goals, dreams and financial independence.”

“Today, unsurprisingly, Governor Rauner sided with profitable student loan servicers over students who want to pay for higher education,” Biss said. “The industry was so opposed to these reforms that servicers sent high-powered lobbyists to Springfield to fight against students’ interests. The governor’s action is a win for servicers, but I am committed to working with my colleagues to override the governor’s veto.”

“This was simple and straightforward legislation to protect students from egregious abuses by bad actors in the loan servicing industry,” Guzzardi said. “By vetoing SB 1351, Gov. Rauner shows yet again that he stands with profiteering companies and against the people he’s supposed to represent. The hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans struggling with student debt won’t forget this action, and I urge my colleagues to join me in overriding this senseless veto.”

Over the past decade, student loan debt has doubled to become the largest form of unsecured consumer debt in the country with more than 40 million borrowers owing over $1.4 trillion. Nearly 70 percent of graduates leave college with an average debt burden of $30,000, and one-in-four borrowers are behind on their payments or in default.

Students who attended for-profit colleges are particularly hard hit, making up the vast majority of borrowers in default. While federal income-based repayment options are available, the U.S. Treasury has reported that only 20 percent of eligible borrowers are enrolled in these options, which can lower payments based on income to as low as $0 a month.

Madigan said Illinois borrowers frequently experience problems with their student loan servicers. Specifically, borrowers in Illinois have complained to her office that their loan servicers failed to inform them of affordable repayment options, follow borrower payment instructions and answer questions consistently.

Because it is so difficult to get legitimate help from loan servicers, student loan borrowers are increasingly turning elsewhere for help. Scam artists have rushed in to exploit desperate borrowers, much like they did during the mortgage crisis, with false promises to help in exchange for large, illegal upfront fees. Madigan has led the country in shutting down illegal student loan debt relief operations preying on borrowers.

The Illinois Student Loan Bill of Rights would protect student loan borrowers by prohibiting student loan servicers from misleading borrowers and requiring that servicers:

Properly process payments;
Require specialists to provide and explain to struggling borrowers all of their repayment options, starting with income-driven plans; and
Inform borrowers that they may be eligible to have their loans forgiven due to a disability or a problem with the school they attended.

* Sen. Biss…

Daniel Biss released the following statement on Facebook in response to Governor Rauner’s Friday night massacre.

“In the span of an hour, Bruce Rauner told women that they don’t deserve equal pay, students that they don’t deserve fair loans, and workers that they don’t deserve a living wage, or protections from wage theft. And then he went home to one of his nine houses.

“This is why our state doesn’t work for us. It’s not because we’re broke, or because we don’t know how to fix the problems—it’s because we have an out of touch, arrogant billionaire for a governor who would prefer to see the rich and powerful prosper instead of the people of Illinois.