Illinois May Soon Have Children’s Savings Accounts

Legislation to create an Illinois Children’s Savings Accounts Task Force passed the Illinois Senate (S.B. 388) unanimously last month and now moves to the Illinois House (H.B. 1662). The bills create a task force to review and recommend children’s savings account program options and to create an implementation plan to open a savings account at birth for every child born in Illinois to Illinois residents.

Two of the lead sponsors, Sen. Jackie Collins and Rep. Marlow Colvin, spoke at an April 9 press conference and forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Students from Mayo Elementary School were recognized at the event for their achievement in saving over $52,000 in their children’s savings accounts as part of the national Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) Initiative. The event received extensive media coverage by the Chicago Sun-Times, Fox TV news, WBEZ radio, and the American Banker. See Born with a bank account? Possibly (Chicago Sun-Times, April 9, 2007) and Sowing SEEDS of sense (Chicago Sun-Times, April 9, 2007).

Cosponsored by both Republicans and Democrats, the bills require the task force to hold at least four public meetings at various locations throughout the state and to report, in writing, no later than September 1, 2008, its findings and recommendations, including a strategic implementation plan for an Illinois children’s savings account program.

The Illinois Asset Building Group (IABG), a statewide coalition cochaired by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and Heartland Alliance, is spearheading efforts to create the task force. IABG members believe that universal children’s savings accounts will help all children reach their full potential, produce a more educated workforce and consumer base, and generate new revenue over time by increasing individual earning power and investments. IABG invites interested persons to visit its website at www.illinoisasssetbuilding.org and to attend the next member meeting in Springfield, Illinois, on May 9 (RSVP to megdunne@povertylaw.org). For more information, contact Dory Rand at doryrand@povertylaw.org or 312.368.2007.