JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program

The number of awards made through this program, as well as the individual dollar amount awarded, are subject to sufficient annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor.

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Program Description
Eligibility
How to Apply (and Obtaining the Application)
How Funds Are Awarded and Disbursed
Processing Updates

The Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program provides awards to encourage academically talented Illinois students to teach in Illinois schools in low-income areas. A listing of Illinois schools in low-income areas is provided at the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory. If these obligations are met by a Federal Stafford loan borrower who has qualified for the federal government’s loan forgiveness programs, Illinois may provide an additional matching award of up to $5000 to the qualifying teacher to repay their student loan debt.

Although the Illinois program was initially available also to child care providers, the federal Child Care Provider Loan Forgiveness Program received no funding beyond the demonstration program, and does not accept applications.  Consequently, there is no application for the Illinois Child Care Providers Program. 

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen
  • Be an Illinois resident
  • Be a borrower who has had an amount of your educational loans forgiven under the federal government’s loan forgiveness programs
  • Have a balance remaining on your eligible student loan(s)
  • Have fulfilled your five-year teaching obligation in an Illinois elementary or secondary school designated as a low-income school.

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How to Apply

To apply, you must obtain a current Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Application. When it becomes available each year, the application may be accessed via the Applications page of this website. You must submit the application, along with any required documentation, to ISAC’s Deerfield office as indicated on the application. Required documentation includes, but is not limited to, a copy of your completed federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness application and a copy of the letter indicating you have been approved for the federal program. See the application for a description of all required documentation. The completed application (including all required corresponding documentation) must be submitted to ISAC within six (6) months of the date on the Notice of Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness eligibility from the federal government.

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How Funds Are Awarded and Disbursed

The total amount of awards each year is contingent upon available funding. If funding in any given year is insufficient to pay all eligible applicants, awarding will be based on the date the complete application (with all required documentation) is received at ISAC’s Deerfield office.

There is a minimum 4-5 week turnaround from the date approved recipients are notified by ISAC to when funds are disbursed. Depending on the volume of payment vouchers being processed by the State of Illinois Comptroller’s Office, this timeframe may increase. Proceeds will be remitted directly to the holder/servicer/lender of the loan(s) to be repaid.

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Processing Updates

Note that ISAC routinely updates this section as new information becomes available. Be sure to check back periodically for the current processing status.

For the 2024 Fiscal Year

(last updated on August 1, 2023):

ISAC is accepting Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program applications for the 2024 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024).

Because the Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program application must be submitted within six months of the date of the Notice of Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness eligibility, we encourage you to complete and submit this application as soon as possible in order to ensure the deadline is not missed.

Allow at least 4-6 weeks for the processing of the application, at which time you will be notified by ISAC regarding your eligibility status. There is a minimum 4-5 week turnaround from the date approved recipients are notified by ISAC to when funds are disbursed. Depending on the volume of payment vouchers being processed by the State of Illinois Comptroller’s Office, this timeframe may increase.

Click here to download and print the Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program application.

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