Capitol rally pushes for apprenticeships to help pay for college

Posted on April 5, 2019
The group Young Invicibles held the rally on Thursday in Springfield. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Being a college student is hard. Paying for college is also hard.

Perhaps apprenticeships can help curb the costs. A state lawmaker appeared at a Capitol Rotunda rally sponsored by the Young Invincibles.

“Senate Bill 2024 is going to give us the baseline data that we need to be able to grow apprenticeships and be able to have a statewide policy to foster the growth of apprenticeships. It’s going to help us identify where we have opportunities for more inclusion into these programs,” said State Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-Arlington Heights).

As for debt, University of Illinois Chicago freshman Moon Goldstein said, “Our society problematically normalizes the idea that it’s okay for students to go down with several thousand dollars in debt and leaving college paying off student loans well into their retirement. This is not okay.”

People at the rally wish MAP grants were as available as they used to be.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]. 

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