Dupage Policy Journal

Students could soon use college savings accounts on more educational expenses or job-training programs tax-free now that a bill has advanced from the Illinois Senate Financial Institutions Committee. 

Sen. Laura Ellman (D-Naperville), who sponsored the bill, said it expands the use of such savings plans to "better reflect the realities of higher education" since she believes some students would benefit from spending the money on educational loans or classes about job training.

"House Bill 741 would allow students to use 529 college savings accounts for additional purposes without additional taxation," Ellman wrote in a post on her Facebook page May 5. 

Under the law, students would be able to use up to $10,000 for other education-related expenses without being taxed, putting Illinois in line with federal law. 

The additional expenses would include interest payments on qualified student loans and costs associated with fees, textbooks, supplies, and other materials needed for vocational apprenticeship programs so long as it's been registered and certified by the secretary of labor, according to a release on Ellman's Senate website.

The bill will now head to the Senate floor for discussions after it passed the committee just this week.