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Chicago’s City Colleges will wipe out debt of former students who return, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces in push to boost post-COVID recovery

Latil Willis was struggling to keep up with her schoolwork from Harold Washington College in Chicago while also holding down a job. She became overwhelmed and ultimately dropped her classes, but she missed the tuition refund deadline and then began accumulating debt.

“I have always dreamed of earning my business degree and having a career in fashion,” Willis said. “It was difficult for me to realize that I might not ever be able to do so.”

Willis is now getting a second chance both to earn her associate degree and wipe out that debt. She is one of more than 21,000 former students of the City Colleges of Chicago system who Mayor Lori Lightfoot says could benefit from a debt forgiveness program she announced on Tuesday, with Willis at her side.

Aiming to boost Chicago’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery, the “Fresh Start” initiative will offer those who left City Colleges in good academic standing over the past 10 years the chance to complete their degrees or certificates debt-free, as soon as this fall. The mayor’s office estimates this group of former students currently holds $17.7 million in debt.

“No Chicagoan should be forced to fall so far behind while pursuing the very thing that can propel them to a stable middle-class lifestyle and out of poverty,” the mayor said at a Tuesday news conference at Harold Washington College to tout the new program. “When they’re not able to excel, we all lose.”

Willis said she’s “beyond excited” about the opportunity and feels more motivated than ever before.

“I want to set an example for my 4-month-old son so that he can see me go to college and know that it’s possible for him as well,” Willis said.

Like Willis, many people find that debt stands in the way of achieving career aspirations and economic growth, City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado said Tuesday.

“A college credential is pivotal to work for success, we all know that,” Salgado said, “especially during economic downturns.”

City Colleges of Chicago, a network of community colleges, will play an important role in addressing the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus, according to the mayor’s office, as the schools help prepare students for many high in-demand fields, such as transportation, distribution, logistics and health care.

Of these 21,000 students who qualify for the program, 51% are Black and 34% are Latino, according to the mayor’s office. Many are just one course or one semester away from completing their degrees.

Students who return to City Colleges through Fresh Start will have half of their outstanding debt cleared if they remain enrolled and make satisfactory academic progress in their first term. The rest of their college debt will be forgiven upon completion of their degree program.

To participate, students will need to enroll in at least one credit course at one of the City Colleges and pay a one-time nonrefundable reinstatement fee of $75. Returning students will also be required to meet with an adviser to set educational goals and a financial counselor to develop a credit action plan.

The Fresh Start program will run from through 2023. The City Colleges of Chicago system has seven campuses — Daley, Harold Washington, Kennedy-King, Malcolm X, Olive-Harvey, Truman and Wright — as well as five satellite sites.

City Colleges has struggled for years to boost enrollment and graduation rates, which dipped to as low as 7% in 2009. That figure has improved to more than 20% in recent years, though a 2017 Better Government Association report attributed that largely to the colleges making degree standards less rigorous, changing how the numbers are counted and retroactively awarding degrees.