As used in this Act:

"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

"Full-time employee" means an individual who is employed for consideration for at least 35 hours each week.

"Program" means the Workforce Development Through Charitable Loan Repayment Program established under this Act.

"Qualified community foundation" means a community foundation or similar publicly supported organization described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that (i) is organized or operating in this State, (ii) substantially complies, as determined by the Commission, with the national standards for United States community foundations established by the Community Foundations National Standards or a successor entity, and (iii) is approved by the Commission for participation in the Program as provided in Section 10-17.

"Qualified worker" means an individual who meets all of the following:

1. (1) the individual is a full-time employee of a business that meets one or more of the following:

   1. (A) the business is a qualified new business venture that is registered with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under Section 220 of the Illinois Income Tax Act;
   2. (B) the business is primarily engaged in a targeted growth industry;
   3. (C) the business is a minority-owned business, a women-owned business, or a business owned by a person with a disability, as those terms are defined in the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Women, and Persons with Disabilities Act; or
   4. (D) the business is a not-for-profit corporation, as defined in the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986;
2. (2) the individual is employed by the business described in paragraph (1) at a job site that is located in an Enterprise Zone, an Opportunity Zone, an underserved area, or an area that has a bachelor's degree attainment rate for the population that is below the State or national average for the population, as determined by the United States Census Bureau; and
3. (3) the individual (i) received an associate degree or higher and has an outstanding balance due on a qualified education loan, as defined in Section 221 of the Internal Revenue Code, or

4. (ii) accrued educational debt while pursuing skilled trades and related schooling. "Student loan repayment assistance" means grants or post-graduation scholarships made by a community foundation directly to a student loan servicer on behalf of a qualified worker.

   "Targeted growth industry" means one or more of the following:

5. (1) advanced manufacturing;
6. (2) agribusiness and food processing;
7. (3) transportation distribution and logistics;
8. (4) life sciences and biotechnology;
9. (5) business and professional services; or

10. (6) energy.

    "Underserved area" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5-5 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-592, eff. 6-7-24.)