Quinn to name immigrant scholarships commission by September

Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday that by next month he hopes to name a nine-member commission as part of legislation he recently signed to establish a privately funded college scholarship program for immigrant children in Illinois who are in the U.S. both illegally and legally.

Quinn said he wants there to be enough time for people who want to serve on the commission created by the new Illinois Dream Act to have time to submit their names for consideration.

“I would hope by the middle of September we would have everything ready to go,” he said at an unrelated news conference in Chicago.

The Dream Act mandates the commission, which will lead the charge in fundraising for the scholarship program because no taxpayer money will be used. Quinn said the scholarship fund will need “ample” money so more than just a few people benefit.

Quinn has already personally pledged $1,000 to the fund.

Immigrant children can qualify if they attend an Illinois high school for at least three years and have at least one parent who immigrated to the United States either legally or illegally

Private scholarships are often how illegal immigrants pay for college because they don’t qualify for government financial aid. In Illinois, illegal immigrants qualify for in-state tuition rates.

The new Illinois Dream Act also lets anyone with a Social Security number or taxpayer identification number enroll in state-run college savings programs.