Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois can sell portions of the state’s student-loan portfolio, the Illinois attorney general has ruled. But the ruling said that the governor, a Democrat, must put the money generated by such a sale back into accounts related to student loans and cannot sell the entire portfolio without legislative approval, according to the Associated Press.
The chairman of the state’s Student Assistance Commission told the AP that the ruling validated the commission’s plan to sell or restructure some of the student-loan portfolio to raise at least $100-million for more college scholarships.
A debate over the sale of student-loan assets also is under way in Missouri, where the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority recently voted to back Gov. Matt Blunt’s plan to sell $350-million of its student-loan assets and use the proceeds to pay for campus construction projects. The plan still needs legislative approval to take effect.
