Slaughter Supports Measure to Make College More Affordable for Military Personnel

CHICAGO – To help veterans who are pursuing higher education, state Rep. Slaughter, D-Chicago, is supporting legislation to make tuition more affordable for active duty military and veterans.

“I strongly believe that it our duty to take care of our veterans and active duty service members, and that includes making sure they have access to the resources they need,” said Slaughter. “We must make sure that our veterans are able to easily transition into well-paying civilian jobs, and helping them pursue affordable higher education will help do so.”

The Slaughter-backed Senate Bill 1907 changes the policies of Illinois’ nine public universities and all public community colleges to consider all active duty military and individuals receiving VA education benefits as Illinois residents for tuition purposes, beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year. This will significantly decrease higher education costs for out-of-state veterans going to public universities in Illinois.

“Veterans, who have given more than most of us, are entitled to receiving the unwavering support from the government in accomplishing their goals,” said Slaughter. “We must do whatever we can to make sure that our veterans are taken care of and are free to pursue higher education in Illinois, no matter which state they came from. I am committed to supporting legislation that supports veterans and our military, and I urge Governor Pritzker to sign this measure into law.”